scholarly journals Reconstructing fire history in central Mongolia from tree-rings

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy E. Hessl ◽  
Uyanga Ariya ◽  
Peter Brown ◽  
Oyunsannaa Byambasuren ◽  
Tim Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Central Mongolia ◽  
Targeted Sampling ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Use Factors

Rising temperatures are expected to increase wildfire activity in many regions of the world. Over the last 60 years in Mongolia, mean annual temperatures have increased ~2°C and the recorded frequency and spatial extent of forest and steppe fires have increased. Few long records of fire history exist to place these recent changes in a historical perspective. The purpose of this paper is to report on fire history research from three sites in central Mongolia and to highlight the potential of this region as a test case for understanding the relationships between climate change, fire and land use. We collected partial cross-sections from fire-scarred trees and stumps at each site using a targeted sampling approach. All three sites had long histories of fire ranging from 280 to 450 years. Mean Weibull fire return intervals varied from 7 to 16 years. Fire scars at one protected-area site were nearly absent after 1760, likely owing to changes in land use. There is limited synchrony in fire occurrence across sites, suggesting that fire occurrence, at least at annual time scales, might be influenced by local processes (grazing, human ignitions, other land-use factors) as well as regional processes like climate. Additional data are being collected to further test hypotheses regarding climate change, land use and fire.

scholarly journals Fire history in Andean Araucaria–Nothofagus forests: coupled influences of past human land-use and climate on fire regimes in north-west Patagonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro E. González ◽  
Ariel A. Muñoz ◽  
Álvaro González-Reyes ◽  
Duncan A. Christie ◽  
Jason Sibold
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Araucaria Forest ◽  
North West ◽  
Human Land Use ◽  
Nothofagus Forests

Historical fire regimes are critical for understanding the potential effects of changing climate and human land-use on forest landscapes. Fire is a major disturbance process affecting the Andean Araucaria forest landscape in north-west Patagonia. The main goals of this study were to reconstruct the fire history of the Andean Araucaria–Nothofagus forests and to evaluate the coupled influences of climate and humans on fire regimes. Reconstructions of past fires indicated that the Araucaria forest landscape has been shaped by widespread, stand-replacing fires favoured by regional interannual climate variability related to major tropical and extratropical climate drivers in the southern hemisphere. Summer precipitation and streamflow reconstructions tended to be below average during fire years. Fire events were significantly related to positive phases of the Southern Annular Mode and to warm and dry summers following El Niño events. Although Euro-Chilean settlement (1883–1960) resulted in widespread burning, cattle ranching by Pehuenche Native Americans during the 18th and 19th centuries also appears to have changed the fire regime. In the context of climate change, two recent widespread wildfires (2002 and 2015) affecting Araucaria forests appear to be novel and an early indication of a climate change driven shift in fire regimes in north-west Patagonia.

Interprovincial and interannual differences in the causes of land-use fires in Sumatra, Indonesia

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Stolle ◽  
E.F. Lambin
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Allocation ◽  
Temporal Association ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Production Area ◽  
Factor Interactions ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Use Factors

Despite the vast destruction caused by recent fires in Sumatra's forested areas, there have been few analyses of their spatial variability and causes. Various combinations of predisposing and land-use factors in space and time may cause fires. For each variable, fire densities were calculated to assess the spatial and temporal association between natural and cultural landscape variables and fire occurrence in four provinces in Sumatra, Indonesia for a non-dry year (1999) and a dry year (1997). This was complemented by a single multivariate logistic regression for the two years over the four provinces with fires as the dependent variable and land use and predisposing factors as independent variables. The provincial analyses showed that fires are determined by multiple, interacting factors and that these factor interactions are not the same in all provinces. In the non-dry year, the factors were only weak determinants of fires and only few determinants were common to all provinces (presence of undisturbed forests, elevation, smallholder area, land allocation to production area). In the dry year, more determinants of fires were found to be common to all provinces (presence of undisturbed forests, elevation, land allocation to production or conversion areas, presence of plantations, distance from roads). This led to the identification of pathways that increased fire probability. The first step was the allocation of land to different land-use types and stakeholders by national policies. If allocated to large-scale landowners, fires were more likely to occur in plantations, especially in the dry year. Logging concessions did not play a major role in increasing the incidence of fire. However the strongest increase in fire probability was outside the areas under use, in undisturbed forests. We conclude that areas not yet used by large-scale landowners were more prone to fire, indicating a serious threat to the remaining forests in this region.

scholarly journals The impacts of climate, land use, and demography on fires during the 21st century simulated by CLM-CN

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 9709-9746 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kloster ◽  
N. M. Mahowald ◽  
J. T. Randerson ◽  
P. J. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Climate Projection ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
The Future ◽  
In Fire

Abstract. Landscape fires during the 21st century are expected to change in response to multiple agents of global change. Important controlling factors include climate controls on the length and intensity of the fire season, fuel availability, and fire management, which are already anthropogenically perturbed today and are predicted to change further in the future. An improved understanding of future fires will contribute to an improved ability to project future anthropogenic climate change, as changes in fire behavior will in turn impact climate. In the present study we used a coupled-carbon-fire model to investigate how changes in climate, demography, and land use may alter fire emissions. We used climate projections following the SRES A1B scenario from two different climate models (ECHAM5/MPI-OM and CCSM) and changes in population. Land use and harvest rates were prescribed according to the RCP 45 scenario. In response to the combined effect of all these drivers, our model estimated, depending on our choice of climate projection, an increase in future (2075–2099) fire carbon emissions by 17 and 62% compared to present day (1985–2009). The largest increase in fire emissions was predicted for Southern Hemisphere South America for both climate projection. For Northern Hemisphere Africa, a region that contributed significantly to the global total fire carbon emissions, the response varied between a decrease and an increase depending on the climate projection. We disentangled the contribution of the single forcing factors to the overall response by conducting an additional set of simulations in which each factor was individually held constant at pre-industrial levels. The two different projections of future climate change evaluated in this study led to increases in global fire carbon emissions by 22% (CCSM) and 66% (ECHAM5/MPI-OM). The RCP 45 projection of harvest and land use led to a decrease in fire carbon emissions by −5%. Changes in human ignition led to an increase in 20%. When we also included changes in fire management efforts to suppress fires in densely populated areas, global fire carbon emission decreased by −6% in response to changes in population density. We concluded from this study that changes in fire emissions in the future are controlled by multiple interacting factors. Although changes in climate led to an increase in future fire emissions this could be globally counterbalanced by coupled changes in land use, harvest, and demography.

A 7600 yr vegetation and fire history from Anthony Lake, northeastern Oregon, USA, with linkages to modern synoptic climate patterns

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 705-713
Author(s):  
Colin J. Long ◽  
Jaqueline J. Shinker ◽  
Thomas A. Minckley ◽  
Mitchell J. Power ◽  
Patrick J. Bartlein
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Charcoal Analysis ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
Climate Patterns ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
In Fire

AbstractWe used pollen and high-resolution charcoal analysis of lake sediment to reconstruct a 7600 yr vegetation and fire history from Anthony Lake, located in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. From 7300 to 6300 cal yr BP, the forest was composed primarily of Populus, and fire was common, indicating warm, dry conditions. From 6300 to 3000 cal yr BP, Populus declined as Pinus and Picea increased in abundance and fire became less frequent, suggesting a shift to cooler, wetter conditions. From 3000 cal yr BP to present, modern-day forests composed of Pinus and Abies developed, and from 1650 cal yr BP to present, fires increased. We utilized the modern climate-analogue approach to explain the potential synoptic climatological processes associated with regional fire. The results indicate that years with high fire occurrence experience positive 500 mb height anomalies centered over the Great Basin, with anomalous southerly component of flow delivering dry air into the region and with associated sinking motions to further suppress precipitation. It is possible that such conditions became more common over the last 1650 cal yr BP, supporting an increase in fire despite the shift to more mesic conditions.

Variability in fire - climate relationships in ponderosa pine forests in the Colorado Front Range

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary L. Sherriff ◽  
Thomas T. Veblen
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Montane Zone ◽  
In Fire

Understanding the interactions of climate variability and wildfire has been a primary objective of recent fire history research. The present study examines the influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on fire occurrence using fire-scar evidence from 58 sites from the lower ecotone to the upper elevational limits of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) in northern Colorado. An important finding is that at low v. high elevations within the montane zone, climatic patterns conducive to years of widespread fire are different. Differences in fire–climate relationships are manifested primarily in antecedent year climate. Below ~2100 m, fires are dependent on antecedent moister conditions that favour fine fuel accumulation 2 years before dry fire years. In the upper montane zone, fires are dependent primarily on drought rather than an increase in fine fuels. Throughout the montane zone, fire is strongly linked to variations in moisture availability that in turn is linked to climate influences of ENSO, PDO and AMO. Fire occurrence is greater than expected during the phases of each index associated with drought. Regionally widespread fire years are associated with specific phase combinations of ENSO, PDO and AMO. In particular, the combination of La Niña, negative PDO and positive AMO is highly conducive to widespread fire.

Anthropogenic land use change and fire history during the Holocene in the Iberian Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Sweeney ◽  
Marc Vander Linden ◽  
Sandy Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Anthropogenic Land Use Change ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Anthropogenic Land Use

<p>Anthropogenic land-use change and ecosystem management have a demonstrable impact on modern fire regimes. However, when in time this influence was first felt is still an open question. We investigate whether an anthropogenic signal can be identified in Holocene fire records from the Iberian Peninsula, a region with abundant palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data. We analyse sedimentary charcoal data from 49 sites across the Peninsula covering part or all of the past 12,000 years to construct the fire history for the region. We compare these records to the summed probabilities of radiocarbon-dated archaeological sites, which provides an index for changes in human impact on land use and land cover due to the growth or decrease in human population through time. This reconstruction is based on 8200 radiocarbon dates covering the timespan between12000 and 3500 uncal BP.  Our analyses confirm that the broad trends in fire history are well aligned with the likely impact of climate changes during the Holocene. The charcoal records indicate a rapid increase in fire at the end of the Younger Dryas, a reduction in fire during the middle Holocene as a result of wetter conditions across the Peninsula, and an increase in fire concordant with the increased aridity registered during the interval after 3000 yr BP. However, finer-scale temporal variations are superimposed upon these broadscale changes. Similarly, although the most pronounced change in population reflects population growth associated with the onset of agriculture in the mid-Holocene, the summed probability record of population shows considerable finer-scale temporal variation. In addition to analyses of the temporal correlations between the two data sets, we consider whether there are distinct geographic patterns that could provide additional insights into the relationship between human activities and fire across Iberia.</p>

Fire history and the establishment of oaks and maples in second-growth forests

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1184-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd F. Hutchinson ◽  
Robert P. Long ◽  
Robert D. Ford ◽  
Elaine Kennedy Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Direct Relationship ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Fire Control ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
History Of ◽  
Stand Thinning ◽  
Large Pulse ◽  
Cut Stumps

We used dendrochronology to examine the influence of past fires on oak and maple establishment. Six study units were located in southern Ohio, where organized fire control began in 1923. After stand thinning in 2000, we collected basal cross sections from cut stumps of oak (n = 137) and maple (n = 204). The fire history of each unit was developed from the oaks, and both oak and maple establishment were examined in relation to fire history. Twenty-six fires were documented from 1870 to1933; thereafter, only two fires were identified. Weibull median fire-return intervals ranged from 9.1 to 11.3 years for the period ending 1935; mean fire occurrence probabilities (years/fires) for the same period ranged from 11.6 to 30.7 years. Among units, stand initiation began ca. 1845 to 1900, and virtually no oak recruitment was recorded after 1925. Most maples established after the cessation of fires. In several units, the last significant fire was followed immediately by a large pulse of maple establishment and the cessation of oak recruitment, indicating a direct relationship between fire cessation and a shift from oak to maple establishment.

scholarly journals Easy-To-Interpret Procedure to Analyze Fire Seasonality and the Influence of Land Use in Fire Occurrence: A Case Study in Central Italy

Fire ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Sofia Bajocco ◽  
Carlotta Ferrara ◽  
Daniela Guglietta ◽  
Carlo Ricotta
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Fire Seasonality ◽  
Graphical Tool ◽  
In Fire

Fire frequency and fire seasonality are among the main components of the fire regime. In the Mediterranean Basin, climate directly drives fire occurrence, controlling fuel flammability and determining the fire-prone conditions, so that intense fires prevail during the dry and warm season of the year. However, humans also play a direct role in wildfire regimes, severely altering fuel features, fire policies and land-use management, as well as the timing and location of fire ignitions, to such an extent that anthropogenic activities have overcome the role of climate in shaping fire regimes. The main purpose of this work is to propose a graphical tool capable of identifying the most fire-prone portions of the territory and to explore the differences between the summer and winter fire risk; to this end, we analyzed the seasonal fire risk in the Latium region (central Italy) and its drivers in terms of land-use types, by using a fuel phenology framework. The results demonstrated that climate is not the main cause of bimodal seasonality in fire occurrence and that the existence of two annual fire seasons in Latium is strongly correlated with how humans use fire as a land management tool. The proposed approach may represent an easy-to-interpret pyrogeographical framework applicable in any environment and updatable over time, useful for identifying spatial gradients, and for recognizing fire regime temporal patterns.

Forest fire occurrence and climate change in Canada

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 253 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. Wotton ◽  
C. A. Nock ◽  
M. D. Flannigan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Fire Activity ◽  
In Fire

The structure and function of the boreal forest are significantly influenced by forest fires. The ignition and growth of fires depend quite strongly on weather; thus, climate change can be expected to have a considerable impact on forest fire activity and hence the structure of the boreal forest. Forest fire occurrence is an extremely important element of fire activity as it defines the load on suppression resources a fire management agency will face. We used two general circulation models (GCMs) to develop projections of future fire occurrence across Canada. While fire numbers are projected to increase across all forested regions studied, the relative increase in number of fires varies regionally. Overall across Canada, our results from the Canadian Climate Centre GCM scenarios suggest an increase in fire occurrence of 25% by 2030 and 75% by the end of the 21st century. Results projected from fire climate scenarios derived from the Hadley Centre GCM suggest fire occurrence will increase by 140% by the end of this century. These general increases in fire occurrence across Canada agree with other regional and national studies of the impacts of climate change on fire activity. Thus, in the absence of large changes to current climatic trends, significant fire regime induced changes in the boreal forest ecosystem are likely.

Climatic and human influences on fire history in Pike National Forest, central Colorado

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 1526-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A Donnegan ◽  
Thomas T Veblen ◽  
Jason S Sibold
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
El Nino ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Moisture Availability ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Pike National Forest

We investigated interannual and multidecadal variability in fire regimes, as related to climate and human land-use in Pike National Forest, central Colorado. Short and long-term trends in fire-scar records were related to tree-ring proxy records of moisture availability and to variability in El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Fire occurrence is strongly tied to interannual drought conditions and is associated with cycles of ENSO. Fire events tend to occur in years of reduced moisture availability (La Niña years) and are often preceded by 2–4 years of increased moisture availability (El Niño years). A period of reduced variability in the tree-ring record from 1760 to 1820 AD, roughly corresponds to a period of reduced fire occurrence from approximately 1792 to 1842. Coincident with increased fire occurrence, variability in the climate proxies was high in the middle to late 1800s until the early 1900s. Multidecadal impacts through land use are also evident in the fire record with sharp increases during Euro-American settlement in ca. 1850 and abrupt declines with the start of active fire suppression after ca. 1920. Both humans and climatic variation appear to have interacted synergistically to create long-term trends in fire occurrence over the past two centuries.

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