Perceptions of the relationships between forest ecosystems and wildfires have evolved. The ecological role of wildfires is now recognised as essential for maintaining the functionality of fire-adapted forests. Although research on the impact of fire on fauna has grown notably, there is a lack of consensus on its global effects due to the variable responses of faunal communities across taxa. This review provides a bibliometric synthesis of wildfires and their impact on avifauna in temperate forests. It identifies patterns and gaps in research methodologies and offers recommendations for future studies. We employed quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse 52 studies on the effects of wildfires on avifauna in temperate forests from January 2000 to August 2022. We evaluated bibliometric data, sampling methodologies, fire disturbance assessments, fire severity levels and statistical analyses. Approximately 50% of the studies did not include fire severity levels, 38% did not use control areas or pre-disturbance data and only 60% employed statistical modelling. We recommend incorporating undisturbed reference areas and considering severity levels when designing avifaunal censuses, management plans and conservation activities in fire-affected areas.
Ramírez Sánchez, D., Seingier, G., De León Girón, G., Villada Canela, M., Steel, Z.L. & Rivera Huerta, H. (2025). A systematic review of trends and methodologies in research on the effects of wildfires on the avifauna in temperate forests. Ardeola, 72: 105-120.