Một trong những lời giải thích cổ điển cho sự tuyệt chủng Holocene gần 20 loài động vật có vú, chim và các loài bò sát lớn trên đảo Madagascar, một phần, do con người gây ra hoả hoạn và các điều chỉnh liên quan đến môi trường tự nhiên. Cơ sở hồ sơ phấn hoa khác nhau lõi từ Tây Nguyên Malagasy, rõ ràng rằng cháy rừng tự nhiên xảy ra trước khi nghề nghiệp của con người của đảo khoảng 2300 năm trước đây (Burney, 1987; Burney et al, 2004) Trong một số vùng của hòn đảo này,. | 6 The Influence of Fire on Mountain Sclerophyllous Forests and Their SmallMammal Communities in Madagascar Bernardin . Rasolonandrasana and Steven M. Goodman INTRODUCTION One of the classical explanations for the Holocene extinction of nearly 20 species of large mammals birds and reptiles on Madagascar is in part human-induced fires and associated modifications of the natural environment. On the basis of several different pollen profiles cored from the Malagasy central highlands it is clear that natural wildfires occurred well before the first human occupation of the island about 2300 years ago Burney 1987 Burney et al. 2004 . In certain regions of the island particularly the high-mountain zones fire is a natural aspect of the environment. However because humans have been colonizing portions of the central highlands during the course of the past 1000 years they have modified its effects on the environment and influenced its frequency. A number of researchers have investigated the effects of fire on populations of small mammals . Howard et al. 1959 Chew et al. 1959 Ahlgren 1966 Krefting and Ahlgren 1974 Christian 1977 but most of these studies were based on sites in savanna habitats or temperate forests. The effects of fire on local biota and ecological processes in savanna or in forests are generically different Daubenmire 1968 . The implications of these perturbations on ecological processes associated with small mammals living within tropical latitudes are still poorly understood. Fire can directly kill certain animals during its passage Chew et al. 1959 Tevis 1956 . As the passage of fire in a natural area affects plant succession the specific composition of animals in a burned area can also be considerably modified Beck and Vogl 1972 Cook 1959 Layne 1974 . Alteration of the microclimate changes in litter accumulation burning of soil organic material and availability of different types of food have considerable implications for demographic parameters of .
