Fire Climatology in the western United States: introduction to special issue

Swetnam, Thomas W.; Anderson, R. Scott

doi:10.1071/wf08016

Cited by 37 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(74 reference statements)

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“…Nowadays, fires are routinely monitored from satellites (Arino et al, 2012;Giglio et al, 2003;Roy et al, 2005). Historical reconstructions have been made based on tree ring assessments (Falk et al, 2011;Swetnam and Anderson, 2008), charcoal records Scott and Glasspool, 2006), and using measured concentrations of fire-emitted species in ice cores or snow including black carbon and levoglucosan (Kehrwald et al, 2012;McConnell et al, 2007). Another source of information is stand age structure when considering the most recent decades (Kurz and Apps, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What could have caused pre-industrial biomass burning emissions to exceed current rates?

Werf¹,

Peters

Leeuwen³

et al. 2013

Clim. Past

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Abstract. Recent studies based on trace gas mixing ratios in ice cores and charcoal data indicate that biomass burning emissions over the past millennium exceeded contemporary emissions by up to a factor of 4 for certain time periods. This is surprising because various sources of biomass burning are linked with population density, which has increased over the past centuries. We have analysed how emissions from several landscape biomass burning sources could have fluctuated to yield emissions that are in correspondence with recent results based on ice core mixing ratios of carbon monoxide (CO) and its isotopic signature measured at South Pole station (SPO). Based on estimates of contemporary landscape fire emissions and the TM5 chemical transport model driven by present-day atmospheric transport and OH concentrations, we found that CO mixing ratios at SPO are more sensitive to emissions from South America and Australia than from Africa, and are relatively insensitive to emissions from the Northern Hemisphere. We then explored how various landscape biomass burning sources may have varied over the past centuries and what the resulting emissions and corresponding CO mixing ratio at SPO would be, using population density variations to reconstruct sources driven by humans (e.g., fuelwood burning) and a new model to relate savanna emissions to changes in fire return times. We found that to match the observed ice core CO data, all savannas in the Southern Hemisphere had to burn annually, or bi-annually in combination with deforestation and slash and burn agriculture exceeding current levels, despite much lower population densities and lack of machinery to aid the deforestation process. While possible, these scenarios are unlikely and in conflict with current literature. However, we do show the large potential for increased emissions from savannas in a pre-industrial world. This is mainly because in the past, fuel beds were probably less fragmented compared to the current situation; satellite data indicates that the majority of savannas have not burned in the past 10 yr, even in Africa, which is considered "the burning continent". Although we have not considered increased charcoal burning or changes in OH concentrations as potential causes for the elevated CO concentrations found at SPO, it is unlikely they can explain the large increase found in the CO concentrations in ice core data. Confirmation of the CO ice core data would therefore call for radical new thinking about causes of variable global fire rates over recent centuries.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What could have caused pre-industrial biomass burning emissions to exceed current rates?

Werf¹,

Peters

Leeuwen³

et al. 2013

Clim. Past

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“…Os incêndios florestais podem ser de origem antrópica ou natural e aumentou significativamente por causa dos efeitos do Aquecimento Global e das alterações do clima provocados pelo modo de variabilidade climática El Niño -Oscilação Sul (ENOS) (Gutman et al, 2000;Hessl et al, 2004). Temperatura elevada, alterações nos padrões de chuva seguidos do aumento da ocorrência de secas severas em muitas regiões do mundo, devido os episódios de ENOS, contribuem para o aumento considerável de incêndios florestais nos mais diversos ecossistemas (Swetnam & Anderson, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Relação Entre o Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) e os Relatórios de Ocorrência de Incêndios (ROI) no Parque Nacional do Itatiaia

et al. 2017

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RESUMODados de focos de calor via satélites ambientais, de Sistemas Frontais (SF) e Zona de Convergência do Atlântico Sul (ZCAS), juntamente com o Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) e os Relatórios de Ocorrência de Incêndios (ROI) no Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (PNI) foram avaliados. O SPI foi calculado com dados pluviométricos de três estações no PNI. Os dados dos SF e ZCAS foram obtidos via Climanálise. A regressão múltipla foi aplicada a ROI, SPI, SF e ZCAS de forma independente. A maior categoria do ROI ocorreu na classe C (81%), sendo os maiores percentuais no inverno (57,2%) e primavera (35,1%). Os meses críticos de focos de calor foram julho (17%), setembro (23,2%) e agosto (31,9%). Independente da estação, o SF (R2 = 0,75) se sobressaiu em relação a ZCAS (R2 = 0,43). O SF condiciona 80% das variações entre ROI e índice SPI anual, enquanto a ZCAS em apenas 40%.Palavras-chaves: sistemas produtores de chuva, incêndios florestais, índice de seca. Relationship Between Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the FireOccurrence Reports (FOR) in Itatiaia National Park ABSTRACTWe evaluated fire foci data via environmental satellites, from Frontal Systems (FS) and South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) together with Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Fire Occurrence Reports (FOR) in Itatiaia National Park (INP). SPI were computed with rainfall data from three stations in INP. SF and SACZ data were obtained via Climanálise. We applied independent multiple regression to FOR, SPI, SF and SACZ. Largest FOR occurred category in C class (81%), highest percentages during winter (57.2%) and spring (35.1%). The critical months to fire foci were July (17%), September (23.2%) and August (31.9%). Regardless of the season, FS (R 2 = 0.75) were highlighted to SACZ (R 2 = 0.43). SF conditioned 80% of variations between FOR and annual SPI index, while only 40% were due to SACZ.

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“…Synchronous inter-annual to centennial patterns of fire have been linked with shifts in biota across the landscape, both likely reflecting climate as the region-wide driver of change (Swetnam and Betancourt 1998;Swetnam and Anderson 2008). These shifts in biota lead to large scale patterns of homogenous stands of the same forest species with similar age composition and stand structure.…”

Section: Manage For Ecosystem Change: Enable Ecosystems To Adapt To Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing for Multiple Resources Under Climate Change: National Forests

Joyce

Blate

McNulty

et al. 2009

Environmental Management

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This study explores potential adaptation approaches in planning and management that the United States Forest Service might adopt to help achieve its goals and objectives in the face of climate change. Availability of information, vulnerability of ecological and socio-economic systems, and uncertainties associated with climate change, as well as the interacting non-climatic changes, influence selection of the adaptation approach. Resource assessments are opportunities to develop strategic information that could be used to identify and link adaptation strategies across planning levels. Within a National Forest, planning must incorporate the opportunity to identify vulnerabilities to climate change as well as incorporate approaches that allow management adjustments as the effects of climate change become apparent. The nature of environmental variability, the inevitability of novelty and surprise, and the range of management objectives and situations across the National Forest System implies that no single approach will fit all situations. A toolbox of management options would include practices focused on forestalling climate change effects by building resistance and resilience into current ecosystems, and on managing for change by enabling plants, animals, and ecosystems to adapt to climate change. Better and more widespread implementation of already known practices that reduce the impact of existing stressors represents an important ''no regrets'' strategy. These management opportunities will require agency consideration of its adaptive

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Fire Climatology in the western United States: introduction to special issue

Cited by 37 publications

References 57 publications

What could have caused pre-industrial biomass burning emissions to exceed current rates?

What could have caused pre-industrial biomass burning emissions to exceed current rates?

Relação Entre o Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) e os Relatórios de Ocorrência de Incêndios (ROI) no Parque Nacional do Itatiaia

Managing for Multiple Resources Under Climate Change: National Forests

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