Download or read book Temporal and Spatial Variation of Broadleaf Forest Flammability in Boreal Alaska written by Maija I. Wehmas and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The boreal forest is a carbon reservoir containing roughly 40% of the world’s reactive soil carbon, which is mainly cycled by wildland fires. Climate warming in boreal Alaska has changed the wildfire regime such that an increase in broadleaf forest relative to conifer forest is likely, which may reduce landscape flammability. However, the current and future flammability of broadleaf forest in a warming climate is not well understood. We used pre-fire and post-fire geospatial data to investigate the flammability of upland boreal forest patches in Interior Alaska in relation to summer weather conditions. Our objectives were to assess burning of broadleaf forest patches during “Normal” vs. “Large Fire Years”, by week within a fire season, and by topographic position. Using 30-meter land-cover and fire-severity grids, we estimated the flammability of upland broadleaf forest patches during Large and Normal Fire Years. We then tested for topographic effects using a solar radiation index to eliminate potential deviations within the vegetation. Finally, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) hotspots were used to track the spatial extent of burns during the fire season by examining the periods of fire activity and intensity. Flammability of broadleaf forest patches varied both in time and space. Even during Normal Fire Years, broadleaf forest patches exhibited substantial flammability, with a mean of over 50% patch area burned. Patch flammability was significantly higher during Large Fire Years. Burning of broadleaf patches varied with topographic position and correlated with potential insolation. Broadleaf forest patches burned most frequently in late June-early July. Contrary to “conventional wisdom”, broadleaf forest patches in boreal Alaska are susceptible to burning even during Normal Fire Years. With climate warming, the flammability of broadleaf forest is likely to increase due to more extreme fire weather events. Thus, although the frequency of broadleaf forest patches on the landscape is likely to increase with more frequent and severe wildfires, their effectiveness as a fire break may decrease in the future.

Download or read book Fire Regimes Spatial and Temporal Variability and Their Effects on Forests written by Yves Bergeron and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2018-04-13 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Fire Regimes: Spatial and Temporal Variability and Their Effects on Forests" that was published in Forests

Download or read book Interactions Among Climate Fire and Vegetation in the Alaskan Boreal Forest written by Paul Arthur Duffy and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The boreal forest covers 12 million km2 of the northern hemisphere and contains roughly 40% of the world's reactive soil carbon. The Northern high latitudes have experienced significant warming over the past century and there is a pressing need to characterize the response of the disturbance regime in the boreal forest to climatic change. The interior Alaskan boreal forest contains approximately 60 million burnable hectares and, relative to the other disturbance mechanisms that exist in Alaska, fire dominates at the landscape-scale. In order to assess the impact of forecast climate change on the structure and function of the Alaskan boreal forest, the interactions among climate, fire and vegetation need to be quantified. The results of this work demonstrate that monthly weather and teleconnection indices explain the majority of observed variability in annual area burned in Alaska from 1950-2003. Human impacts and fire-vegetation interactions likely account for a significant portion of the remaining variability. Analysis of stand age distributions indicate that anthropogenic disturbance in the early 1900's has left a distinct, yet localized impact. Additionally, we analyzed remotely sensed burn severity data to better understand interactions among fire, vegetation and topography. These results show a significant relationship between burn severity and vegetation type in flat landscapes but not in topographically complex landscapes, and collectively strengthen the argument that differential flammability of vegetation plays a significant role in fire-vegetation interactions. These results were used to calibrate a cellular automata model based on the current conceptual model of interactions among weather, fire and vegetation. The model generates spatially explicit maps of simulated stand ages at 1 km resolution across interior Alaska, and output was validated using observed stand age distributions. Analysis of simulation output suggests that significant temporal variability of both the mean and variance of the stand age distribution is an intrinsic property of the stand age distributions of the Alaskan boreal forest. As a consequence of this non-stationarity, we recommend that simulation based methods be used to analyze the impact of forecast climatic change on the structure and function of the Alaskan boreal forest"--Leaf iii.

Download or read book Fire Regimes written by Yves Bergeron and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Fire Climate Change and Carbon Cycling in the Boreal Forest written by Eric S. Kasischke and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-08-08 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A discussion of the direct and indirect mechanisms by which fire and climate interact to influence carbon cycling in North American boreal forests. The first section summarizes the information needed to understand and manage fires' effects on the ecology of boreal forests and its influence on global climate change issues. Following chapters discuss in detail the role of fire in the ecology of boreal forests, present data sets on fire and the distribution of carbon, and treat the use of satellite imagery in monitoring these regions as well as approaches to modeling the relevant processes.

Download or read book Spatial and Temporal Variations in Fire Frequency in the Boreal Forest of Northern Alberta microform written by Christopher Poul Storm Larsen and published by National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada. This book was released on 1994 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Climate Drivers of Interior Alaska Wildland Fire written by Maryam Bukhader and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study focused on the climate drivers of wildfire in Interior Alaska that occurred in summer season, JJA, during periods in 1994 to 2017. Analysis results presented in this paper provide identify links between meteorological variables and area burned, in the context of spatial and temporal variability at the PSA level. Warmer temperatures caused higher chance of wildland fires as in summer 2004 (26797 km2) where the temperature reached the highest levels compared to all years of study. In addition, this study has shown that temperatures have the same seasonal cycle in all PSAs level; where the temperature increase begins in June, peaks in July and then gradually decline, consistent with the fire season. Although precipitation limits the increase in forest fires, the accompanying lightning increases the chance fires which gives precipitation a double role in influencing the risk of fire. This can be seen clearly in both Upper Yukon valley (AK02) and Tanana Zone South (AK03S) where the largest number of lightning strikes over Interior Alaska occur (17000 and 11000 strikes, respectively). In addition, these two PSAs have the greatest area burned (1441.2 and 1112.4 km2). There is an upward trend in both temperature and precipitation in all months especially in May and September which indicates a decline in the snow season and an increase in the length of the fire season. A similar pattern was documented between PSAs in eastern versus western Alaska. Eastern PSAs receive the highest amount of precipitation in July, (AK01W , AK01E, AK02, AK03N, AK03S) , and western PSAs in August, (AK04, AK05, AK07). The years 2004, 2015, 2005 and 2009 display the largest values for area burned with extremely warm and dry condition especially in 2004 with approximately 26797 km2 (6.6 m acres).

Download or read book Fire History of Boreal Forests written by Jason Anthony Lynch and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Disturbances are mechanisms that mediate ecosystem changes in response to climate-driven vegetation changes. While many studies have looked at the effect of fire on ecosystem components, few have considered the response of fire to climate and vegetation change. The effects that past climate and vegetation shifts have on fire regimes and the potential consequences to ecosystem change are examined here. Charcoal and pollen analyses were used to determine geographic and temporal patterns of past fire regimes in the North American western boreal forest. Seventeen high-resolution records from north-central Canada (NWT and Manitoba), interior Alaska, and northwestern Ontario were analyzed for large charcoal particles in continuously sampled sediment cores to calculate fire return intervals during the Holocene. Fire, vegetation, and climate data were used to interpret regional and temporal differences in fire importance. In addition, sediment charcoal accumulation was compared to modern experimental fires to interpret fire events from sediment records. Particle-size distributions were equal among all lakes, and deposition occurred directly from fires, not from secondary deposition following fires. Based on the similar patterns of charcoal accumulation from the modern burn and particle-size distributions, the largest 10% of charcoal accumulation rates represent individual fire events. The Holocene records show variations among the regions in timing of the maximum fire period (highest charcoal accumulation rates and shortest fire return intervals). The maximum fire period occurred prior to 5,000 yr BP (calendar years before 1950) for North-central Canada in response to a dry climate regime. In interior Alaska, fire was unimportant until the establishment of Picea mariana at 5,500 yr BP. In northwestern Ontario, the maximum fire period occurred between 2,200 yr BP and present in response to climate-induced forest structure shifts. Despite the different timings, the mean fire return intervals of 70 - 100 years are characteristic of each maximum fire period. Modern fire regimes for these regions developed at approximately 2000 yr BP with fire-return intervals ranging from 70 years in the mixed boreal forest to 600 years in the northern lichened boreal woodlands. Twentieth century charcoal accumulation increases suggest that modern fire regimes may have been influenced by recent climate changes"--Leaves iv-v.

Download or read book Arctic Hydrology Permafrost and Ecosystems written by Daqing Yang and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-28 with total page 914 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date assessment of the key terrestrial components of the Arctic system, i.e., its hydrology, permafrost, and ecology, drawing on the latest research results from across the circumpolar regions. The Arctic is an integrated system, the elements of which are closely linked by the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Using an integrated system approach, the book’s 30 chapters, written by a diverse team of leading scholars, carefully examine Arctic climate variability/change, large river hydrology, lakes and wetlands, snow cover and ice processes, permafrost characteristics, vegetation/landscape changes, and the future trajectory of Arctic system evolution. The discussions cover the fundamental features of and processes in the Arctic system, with a special focus on critical knowledge gaps, i.e., the interactions and feedbacks between water, permafrost, and ecosystem, such as snow pack and permafrost changes and their impacts on basin hydrology and ecology, river flow, geochemistry, and energy fluxes to the Arctic Ocean, and the structure and function of the Arctic ecosystem in response to past/future changes in climate, hydrology, and permafrost conditions. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, environmentalists, managers, and administrators who are concerned with the northern environment and resources.

Download or read book Wildland Fuel Fundamentals and Applications written by Robert E. Keane and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-11-04 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new era in wildland fuel sciences is now evolving in such a way that fire scientists and managers need a comprehensive understanding of fuels ecology and science to fully understand fire effects and behavior on diverse ecosystem and landscape characteristics. This is a reference book on wildland fuel science; a book that describes fuels and their application in land management. There has never been a comprehensive book on wildland fuels; most wildland fuel information was put into wildland fire science and management books as separate chapters and sections. This book is the first to highlight wildland fuels and treat them as a natural resource rather than a fire behavior input. Moreover, there has never been a comprehensive description of fuels and their ecology, measurement, and description under one reference; most wildland fuel information is scattered across diverse and unrelated venues from combustion science to fire ecology to carbon dynamics. The literature and data for wildland fuel science has never been synthesized into one reference; most studies were done for diverse and unique objectives. This book is the first to link the disparate fields of ecology, wildland fire, and carbon to describe fuel science. This just deals with the science and ecology of wildland fuels, not fuels management. However, since expensive fuel treatments are being planned in fire dominated landscapes across the world to minimize fire damage to people, property and ecosystems, it is incredibly important that people understand wildland fuels to develop more effective fuel management activities.

Download or read book Alaska s Changing Boreal Forest written by F. Stuart Chapin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-01-12 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Boreal forest is the northern-most forest in the world, whose organisms and dynamics are shaped by low temperature and high latitude. The Alaskan Boreal forest is warming as rapidly as any place on earth, providing an opportunity to examine a biome as it adjusts to change. This book looks at this issue.

Download or read book Wildland Fire in Ecosystems written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Weather Guide for the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System written by B. D. Lawson and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This weather guide includes detailed specifications for locating and instrumenting fire weather stations, taking weather observations, and overwintering the Drought Code component of the FWI System. The sensitivity of the FWI System components to weather elements is represented quantitatively. The importance of weather that is not directly observable is discussed in the context of fuel moisture and fire behavior. Current developments in the observation and measurement of fire weather and the forecasting of fire danger are discussed, along with the implications for the reporting of fire weather of increasingly automated fire management information systems.

Download or read book Fire and Climatic Change in Temperate Ecosystems of the Western Americas written by Thomas T. Veblen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-05-10 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Both fire and climatic variability have monumental impacts on the dynamics of temperate ecosystems. These impacts can sometimes be extreme or devastating as seen in recent El Nino/La Nina cycles and in uncontrolled fire occurrences. This volume brings together research conducted in western North and South America, areas of a great deal of collaborative work on the influence of people and climate change on fire regimes. In order to give perspective to patterns of change over time, it emphasizes the integration of paleoecological studies with studies of modern ecosystems. Data from a range of spatial scales, from individual plants to communities and ecosystems to landscape and regional levels, are included. Contributions come from fire ecology, paleoecology, biogeography, paleoclimatology, landscape and ecosystem ecology, ecological modeling, forest management, plant community ecology and plant morphology. The book gives a synthetic overview of methods, data and simulation models for evaluating fire regime processes in forests, shrublands and woodlands and assembles case studies of fire, climate and land use histories. The unique approach of this book gives researchers the benefits of a north-south comparison as well as the integration of paleoecological histories, current ecosystem dynamics and modeling of future changes.

Download or read book Fire Effects Guide written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Fire Effects on Soils and Restoration Strategies written by A Cerda and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2009-01-05 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has been published a decade after Fires Effects on Ecosystems by DeBano, Neary, and Folliott (1998), and builds on their foundation to update knowledge on natural post-fire processes and describe the use and effectiveness of various restoration strategies that may be applied when human intervention is warranted. The chapters in this book,

Download or read book Permafrost Ecosystems written by Akira Osawa and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-01-04 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing from a decade-long collaboration between Japan and Russia, this important volume presents the first major synthesis of current knowledge on the ecophysiology of the coniferous forests growing on permafrost at high latitudes. It presents ecological data for a region long inaccessible to most scientists, and raises important questions about the global carbon balance as these systems are affected by the changing climate. Making up around 20% of the entire boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, these ‘permafrost forest ecosystems’ are subject to particular constraints in terms of temperature, nutrient availability, and root space, creating exceptional ecosystem characteristics not known elsewhere. This authoritative text explores their diversity, structure, dynamics and physiology. It provides a comparison of these forests in relation to boreal forests elsewhere, and concludes with an assessment of the potential responses of this unique biome to climate change. The book will be invaluable to advanced students and researchers interested in boreal vegetation, forest ecology, silviculture and forest soils, as well as to researchers into climate change and the global carbon balance.