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Nature Geoscience 1, 643–644 (1 October 2008) | doi:10.1038/ngeo321

Terrestrial biosphere: The burning issue

Andrew C. Scott

Fires have scorched the Earth's surface for over 400 million years, and have been an integral part of the Earth system for the past 350 million years. But since humans have begun to use and control fire, its significance in many ecosystems has changed.