scholarly journals FIRE REGIMES AT THE TRANSITION BETWEEN MIXEDWOOD AND CONIFEROUS BOREAL FOREST IN NORTHWESTERN QUEBEC

Ecology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (7) ◽  
pp. 1916-1932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Mike Flannigan ◽  
Victor Kafka
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Coniferous Boreal Forest

scholarly journals Resilience of the boreal forest in response to Holocene fire-frequency changes assessed by pollen diversity and population dynamics

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Carcaillet ◽  
Pierre J. H. Richard ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Bianca Fréchette ◽  
Adam A. Ali
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Frequency Control ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Frequency Changes ◽  
Fire Intervals ◽  
In Fire

The hypothesis that changes in fire frequency control the long-term dynamics of boreal forests is tested on the basis of paleodata. Sites with different wildfire histories at the regional scale should exhibit different vegetation trajectories. Mean fire intervals and vegetation reconstructions are based respectively on sedimentary charcoal and pollen from two small lakes, one in the Mixedwood boreal forests and the second in the Coniferous boreal forests. The pollen-inferred vegetation exhibits different trajectories of boreal forest dynamics after afforestation, whereas mean fire intervals have no significant or a delayed impact on the pollen data, either in terms of diversity or trajectories. These boreal forests appear resilient to changes in fire regimes, although subtle modifications can be highlighted. Vegetation compositions have converged during the last 1200 years with the decrease in mean fire intervals, owing to an increasing abundance of boreal species at the southern site (Mixedwood), whereas changes are less pronounced at the northern site (Coniferous). Although wildfire is a natural property of boreal ecosystems, this study does not support the hypothesis that changes in mean fire intervals are the key process controlling long-term vegetation transformation. Fluctuations in mean fire intervals alone do not explain the historical and current distribution of vegetation, but they may have accelerated the climatic process of borealisation, likely resulting from orbital forcing.

scholarly journals Major postglacial summer temperature changes in the central coniferous boreal forest of Quebec (Canada) inferred using chironomid assemblages

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Bajolle ◽  
Isabelle Larocque-Tobler ◽  
Emmanuel Gandouin ◽  
Martin Lavoie ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Chironomid Assemblages ◽  
Coniferous Boreal Forest

A comparison of Canadian and Russian boreal forest fire regimes

2013 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
pp. 23-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. de Groot ◽  
Alan S. Cantin ◽  
Michael D. Flannigan ◽  
Amber J. Soja ◽  
Lynn M. Gowman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Fire Regimes

Using spatially explicit simulations to explore size distribution and spacing of regenerating areas produced by wildfires: recommendations for designing harvest agglomerations for the Canadian boreal forest

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Belleau ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Alain Leduc ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Andrew Fall
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Fire Size ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

It is now recognized that in the Canadian boreal forest, timber harvesting activities have replaced wildfires as the main stand-replacing disturbance. Differences in landscape patterns derived from these two sources of disturbance have, however, raised concerns that the way forest harvesting has been dispersed is potentially shifting patterns away from the natural range. In the context of natural disturbance-based management, we used a spatially explicit model designed to capture general fire regimes in order to quantify temporal variability associated with regenerating areas (burnt areas of 25 years or younger), and to develop strategic objectives for harvest agglomeration sizes and dispersion. We first evaluated temporal variability in the proportion of stands younger than 100 years (assumed to be even-aged stands) for various fire regimes (seven fire cycles: 50 to 400 years, and three mean fires sizes: 3000, 15 000 and 60 000 ha). Secondly, we quantified the size distribution and dispersion of regenerating areas for each fire regime. As expected by theoretical fire frequencies and size distributions, the importance of even-aged stands at the forest management unit level was found to decrease with longer fire cycles. However, the temporal variability associated with these proportions is shown to increase with mean fire size. It was also observed that the size distribution and dispersion of regenerating areas was primarily influenced by mean fire size. Based on these observations, natural disturbance-based management objectives were formulated, providing guidelines on harvest agglomeration size and dispersion. Key words: temporal variability, boreal forest, fire regime, forest management, age distribution, fire size distribution, clearcut agglomeration size distribution

The history and pattern of fire in the boreal forest of southeastern Labrador

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 2459-2471 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Foster
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
History Of ◽  
Large Fires ◽  
Modern Landscape ◽  
Fire Incidence ◽  
Topographic Relief ◽  
Birch Forests

The fire history of the wilderness of southeastern Labrador is marked by a patchy distribution of large fires in time and space. During the 110-year period encompassed by this study, major fires occurred in four decades, 1870–1879, 1890–1899, 1950–1959, 1970–1979. From 1900 to 1951 only 1125 km2 burned; this represents approximately 10% of the total area consumed from 1870 to 1980. Fire records indicate an asynchroneity of the important fire years in southeastern Labrador and adjacent provinces and within Labrador itself. This observation suggests that the meteorological conditions controlling fire occurrence in this portion of the eastern boreal forest are local in nature and extent. The fire rotation for southeastern Labrador is calculated at approximately 500 years, significantly longer than that estimated for other regions of boreal forest. The rare occurrence of large fires is explained by high levels of precipitation and by the preponderance of fire breaks, primarily lakes and peatlands. On the basis of physiographic criteria the region is subdivided into two types of landscape displaying contrasting fire regimes. The large interior plateau, which is covered by extensive peatlands and numerous lakes, has a low fire incidence and extremely long fire rotation. In contrast, large fires are common in the watersheds of the Alexis, Paradise, and St. Augustin rivers where the topographic relief is quite varied and peatlands are scarce. The regional pattern of fire activity has important phytogeographical implications. The lichen woodlands and birch forests are fire-dependent vegetation types; their distribution in the modern landscape is strongly correlated with the historical occurrence of fire during the past 110 years. In addition it is postulated that the historical absence of fire across the large plains in southeastern Labrador has contributed to the development of extensive peatlands in these areas.

scholarly journals Seven Ways a Warming Climate Can Kill the Southern Boreal Forest

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 560
Author(s):  
Lee E. Frelich ◽  
Rebecca A. Montgomery ◽  
Peter B. Reich
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Gradual Change ◽  
Temperate Trees ◽  
Coniferous Boreal Forest ◽  
Understory Trees ◽  
Overstory Trees

The southern boreal forests of North America are susceptible to large changes in composition as temperate forests or grasslands may replace them as the climate warms. A number of mechanisms for this have been shown to occur in recent years: (1) Gradual replacement of boreal trees by temperate trees through gap dynamics; (2) Sudden replacement of boreal overstory trees after gradual understory invasion by temperate tree species; (3) Trophic cascades causing delayed invasion by temperate species, followed by moderately sudden change from boreal to temperate forest; (4) Wind and/or hail storms removing large swaths of boreal forest and suddenly releasing temperate understory trees; (4) Compound disturbances: wind and fire combination; (5) Long, warm summers and increased drought stress; (6) Insect infestation due to lack of extreme winter cold; (7) Phenological disturbance, due to early springs, that has the potential to kill enormous swaths of coniferous boreal forest within a few years. Although most models project gradual change from boreal forest to temperate forest or savanna, most of these mechanisms have the capability to transform large swaths (size range tens to millions of square kilometers) of boreal forest to other vegetation types during the 21st century. Therefore, many surprises are likely to occur in the southern boreal forest over the next century, with major impacts on forest productivity, ecosystem services, and wildlife habitat.

scholarly journals Validation of the Integrated Biosphere Simulator over Canadian deciduous and coniferous boreal forest stands

2001 ◽  
Vol 106 (D13) ◽  
pp. 14339-14355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustapha El Maayar ◽  
David T. Price ◽  
Christine Delire ◽  
Jonathan A. Foley ◽  
T. Andrew Black ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Integrated Biosphere Simulator ◽  
Coniferous Boreal Forest
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