these different types of patches, fire allows a greater number of species to exist within a landscape. Soil characteristics will be a factor in determining the specific nature of a fire-adapted ecosystem, as will climate and topography. Different frequencies of fire also result in different successional pathways; short intervals between fires often eliminate tree species due to the time required to rebuild a seed bank, resulting in replacement by lighter seeded species like grasses and forbs https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/ Examples of fire in different ecosystems Forests Mild to moderate fires burn in the forest understory, removing small trees and herbaceous groundcover. High-severity fires will burn into the crowns of the trees and kill most of the dominant vegetation. Crown fires may require support from ground fuels to maintain the fire in the forest canopy (passive crown fires), or the fire may burn in the canopy independently of any ground fuel support (an active crown fire). High-severity fire creates complex early seral forest habitat, or snag forest with high levels of biodiversity. When a forest burns frequently and thus has less plant litter build-up, below-ground soil temperatures rise only slightly and will not be lethal to roots that lie deep in the soil. Although other characteristics of a forest will influence the impact of fire upon it, factors such as climate and topography play an important role in determining fire severity and fire extent. Fires spread most widely during drought years, are most severe on upper slopes and are influenced by the type of vegetation that is growing. Forests in British Columbia In Canada, forests cover about 10% of the land area and yet harbor 70% of the country’s bird and terrestrial mammal species. Natural fire regimes are important in maintaining a diverse assemblage of vertebrate species in up to twelve different forest types in British Columbia. Different species have adapted to exploit the different stages of succession, regrowth and habitat change that occurs following an episode of burning, such as downed trees and debris. The characteristics of the initial fire, such as its size and intensity, cause the habitat to evolve differentially afterwards and influence how vertebrate species are able to use the burned areas. The change in forest fire intensity over time has been studied for the period since 1600 in an area of central British Columbia and is consistent with fire suppression since regulation was introduced. Shrublands Shrub fires typically