Wild Research Bites - A Podcast From Slu

In this episode, Emelie and Olli are discussing fire in the boreal forest of Fennoscandia while also making comparisons to savanna ecosystems of South Africa. Why does it burn in the forest? What are the negative as well as positive effects of fire? And how have humans affected fires as a natural disturbance? The situation during the summer of 2018 in Sweden and many other parts of the world regarding high temperatures, little rain, and many forest fires, was widely covered in mainstream media but seen only as a catastrophe. Emelie and Olli provide a more nuanced picture of fire as part of the ecosystem. Also, in an interview with researcher Anne-Maarit Hekkala who works at the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies at SLU, the use of fire as a restoration method is discussed in detail. Anne-Maarit studied the effects of prescribed burning on insects and vegetation as part of her Ph.D. project in Oulu, Finland. After the interview, Emelie talks more about her own current Ph.D. project looking