Global biodiversity change is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time.
Here, we review current scientific knowledge on global biodiversity change and identify the …

Background Heathlands are dynamic plant communities characterized by a high cover of
sclerophyllous, ericoid shrubs that develop over nutrient-poor soils. Interest in the …

Fires have influenced atmospheric composition and climate since the rise of vascular plants,
and satellite data have shown the overall global extent of fires. Our knowledge of historic fire …

Extreme fire events, also referred to as “megafires,” are not uncommon events on a global
scale; they tend to happen a steady frequency in different parts of the world, although, at a …

The timing of the human control of fire is a hotly debated issue, with claims for regular fire
use by early hominins in Africa at∼ 1.6 million y ago. These claims are not uncontested, but …

The nature and causes of the disappearance of Neanderthals and their apparent
replacement by modern humans are subjects of considerable debate. Many researchers …

Human ability to manipulate fire and the landscape has increased over evolutionary time,
but the impact of this on fire regimes and consequences for biodiversity and …

Climate is an important control on biomass burning, but the sensitivity of fire to changes in
temperature and moisture balance has not been quantified. We analyze sedimentary …

The Primate Origins of Human Nature (Volume 3 in The Foundations of Human Biology
series) blends several elements from evolutionary biology as applied to primate behavioral …

Thin on the Ground: Neandertal Biology, Archeology and Ecology synthesizes the current
knowledge about our sister species the Neandertals, combining data from a variety of …