LOS ANGELES, Calif. – We may tend to view fires as the bane of cities and wilderness areas, but they actually play an integral part in the evolution and ecology of the world’s “Mediterranean-type climate” regions — dry, temperate coastlands that cradle and nurture world cities such as Los Angeles, Santiago, Cape Town, Perth and Athens.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – We may tend to view fires as the bane of cities and wilderness areas, but they actually play an integral part in the evolution and ecology of the world’s “Mediterranean-type climate” regions — dry, temperate coastlands that cradle and nurture world cities such as Los Angeles, Santiago, Cape Town, Perth and Athens. Exploring the impact of fire on Mediterranean-type ecosystems and plant communities is the focus of a new book , “Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems,” published by Cambridge University Press