Recent fire regime in the southern boreal forests of western Siberia is unprecedented in the last five millennia

Feurdean, Angelica; Florescu, Gabriela; Tanţău, Ioan; Vannière, Boris; Diaconu, Andrei‐Cosmin; Pfeiffer, Mirjam; Warren, Dan L.; Hutchinson, Simon M.; Gorina, Natalia; Gałka, Mariusz; Kirpotin, Sergey N.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106495

Cited by 57 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Although some studies draw a similar conclusion (e.g. Carcaillet et al, 2001 in eastern Canada), this result contrasts with many other studies from the Eurasian and North American boreal zones, where vegetation changes were found to be closely connected to changes in fire regimes (Barhoumi et al, 2019(Barhoumi et al, , 2020Feurdean et al, 2020;Gavin et al, 2007;Kelly et al, 2013). However, on a shorter, multidecadal timescale, phases with more Cyperaceae pollen (sedges) in the Lake Khamra record and a higher ratio of evergreen to deciduous arboreal pollen types coincide with periods of high fire activity in phases 2 and 4 (see Fig.…”

Section: Vegetationcontrasting

confidence: 95%

“…Barhoumi et al (2019) found the shortest FRIs of the Holocene ranging from 40-100 yrs between 1500 CE and present day in macroscopic charcoal records from the northern Ural region. A mean FRI of 45 yrs during recent centuries was inferred by Feurdean et al (2020). Other studies using tree-stand ages and fire scars in tree-ring chronologies suggest mean FRIs of 80-90 yrs for mixed larch forests between the Yenisei and Tunguska rivers c. 1000 km north-west of Lake Khamra since c. 1800 CE, although the FRI of individual study sites could be as short as c. 50 yrs (Kharuk et al, 2008;Sofronov et al, 1998;Vaganov and Arbatskaya, 1996).…”

Section: Fire Regime History Of the Last Two Millennia At Lake Khamramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…lists only a few continuously sampled macroscopic charcoal records across the Siberian boreal forest. Only recently 60 have charcoal records of sufficient temporal resolution allowed the assessment of fire return intervals in western Siberian evergreen forests and they reveal close fire-vegetation relationships (Barhoumi et al, 2019;Feurdean et al, 2020). More studies have been conducted in North America (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Wildfire history of the boreal forest of southwestern Yakutia (Siberia) over the last two millennia documented by a lake-sedimentary charcoal record

Glückler¹,

Herzschuh²,

Kruse³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. Wildfires, as a key disturbance in forest ecosystems, are shaping the world’s boreal landscapes. Changes in fire regimes are closely linked to a wide array of environmental factors, such as vegetation composition, climate change, and human activity. Arctic and boreal regions and, in particular, Siberian boreal forests are experiencing rising air and ground temperatures with the subsequent degradation of permafrost soils, leading to shifts in tree cover and species composition. Compared to the boreal zones of North America or Europe, little is known about how such environmental changes might influence long-term fire regimes in Russia. The larch-dominated eastern Siberian deciduous boreal forests differ markedly from the composition of other boreal forests, yet data about past fire regimes remain sparse. Here, we present a high-resolution macroscopic charcoal record from lacustrine sediments of Lake Khamra (SW Yakutia, Siberia) spanning the last c. 2200 years, including information about charcoal particle sizes and morphotypes. Our results reveal a phase of increased charcoal accumulation between 600–900 CE, indicative of relatively high amounts of burnt biomass and high fire frequencies. This is followed by an almost 900-year-long period of low charcoal accumulation without significant peaks, likely corresponding to cooler climate conditions. After 1750 CE fire frequencies and the relative amount of biomass burnt start to increase again, coinciding with a warming climate and increased anthropogenic land development after Russian colonisation. In the 20th century, total charcoal accumulation decreases again to very low levels, despite higher fire frequency, potentially reflecting a change in fire management strategies and/or a shift of the fire regime towards more frequent, but smaller fires. A similar pattern for different charcoal morphotypes and comparison to a pollen and non-pollen palynomorph record from the same sediment core indicate that broad-scale changes in vegetation composition were probably not a major driver of recorded fire regime changes. Instead, the fire regime of the last two millennia at Lake Khamra seems to be controlled mainly by a combination of short-term climate variability and anthropogenic fire ignition and suppression.

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Section: Vegetationcontrasting

confidence: 95%

Section: Fire Regime History Of the Last Two Millennia At Lake Khamramentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Wildfire history of the boreal forest of southwestern Yakutia (Siberia) over the last two millennia documented by a lake-sedimentary charcoal record

Glückler¹,

Herzschuh²,

Kruse³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Furthermore, Cumming (2006, 2007) and Mustaphi and Pisaric (2014) classified charcoal morphologies in Canadian lake sediments based on particle shape (morphology), aspect ratio, and surface features, and linked them to fuel types. Based on published morphotype categorisations, more recent studies have attributed fossil charred particles to certain fuel and fire types (Walsh et al, 2010, Daniau et al, 2013Aleman et al, 2013;Courtney-Mustaphi and Pisaric, 2014;Feurdean et al, 2017Feurdean et al, , 2019aFeurdean et al, , 2019bFeurdean et al, , 2020Unkelbach et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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2021

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The analysis of charcoal fragments in peat and lake sediments is the most widely used approach to reconstruct past biomass burning. With a few exceptions, this method typically relies on the quantification of the total charcoal content of the sediment. To enhance charcoal analyses for the reconstruction of past fire regimes, and to make the method more relevant to studies of both plant evolution and fire management, more information must be extracted from charcoal particles. Here, I burned in the laboratory seven fuel types comprising 17 species from boreal Siberia, and build on published schemes to develop morphometric and finer diagnostic classifications of the experimentally charred particles. As most of the species used in this study are common to Northern Hemisphere forests and peatlands, these results can be directly applicable over a broad geographical scale. Results show that the effect of temperature on charcoal production is fuel dependent. Graminoids and Sphagnum, and wood (trunk) lose the most mass at low burn temperatures, whereas heathland shrub leaves, brown moss, and ferns retain the most mass at high burn temperatures. In contrast to the wood of trunk, the wood of twigs retained their mass at intermediate temperature. This suggests that species with low mass retention at hotter burning temperatures might be underrepresented in the fossil charcoal record. Charred particle aspect ratio (L/W) appeared to be the strongest indicator of the fuel type burnt. Graminoid charcoals are more elongate than those of all other fuel types, leaf charcoals are the shortest and bulkiest, and twig and wood charcoals are intermediate. Finer diagnostic features were the most useful in distinguishing between wood, graminoid, and leaf particles, but further distinctions within these fuel types are difficult. High-aspect-ratio particles dominated by graminoid and Sphagnum morphologies are robust indicators of cooler surface fires. Contrastingly, abundant wood and leaf morphologies and low-aspect-ratio particles likely indicate higher-temperature fires. However, the overlapping morphologies of leaves and wood from trees and shrubs make it hard to distinguish between high-intensity surface fires combusting living shrubs and dead wood and leaves or high-intensity crown fires combusting living trees. Despite these limitations, the combined use of charred-particle aspect ratios and fuel morphotypes can aid in more robustly interpreting changes in fuel source and fire type, thereby substantially refining histories of past wildfires. Further fields of investigation to improve the interpretation of the fossil charcoal records will require: i) More in-depth knowledge of plant anatomy for a better determination of fuel sources; ii) Relate the proportion of particular charcoal morphotypes to the quantity of biomass; iii) Link the chemical composition of fuels, combustion temperature, and charcoal production. The advanced use of image-recognition software to collect data on other charcoal features could also aid in extracting fire t...

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“…One aspect of the great diversity of such information is represented by the charred materials (anthracomass) of different genesis (wood and bone) that form the pyrogenic archive of soil. For example, recent studies on the species composition and the particle-size distribution of charcoal assemblages allowed for determinations of wildfire frequency and tree species composition and dynamics [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Of particular interest, there were several literature reviews showing that any territory colonized by people is inevitably subjected to fires, which results in the formation of pyrogenic archives of specific archaeological epochs [15][16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pyrogenic Archives of Anthropogenically Transformed Soils in Central Russia

et al. 2021

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Charred materials (anthracomass) stored within a soil constitute a major part of its pyrogenic archive and could provide evidence of past fire events, both natural and anthropogenic. However, the dynamics of man-made contributions to the total anthracomass of soil at different time scales are insufficiently understood. In this study, we determined the anthracomass concentrations, stocks, and particle-size distribution in anthropogenically transformed soils of different genesis and ages. Materials were collected from the following archaeological sites within Central Russia—3 Upper Paleolithic sites (Avdeevo, Khotylevo-2 and Yudinovo-1), 2 Early Iron Age settlements (Khotylevo-2 and Yaroslavl), and 1 Medieval site (Yaroslavl). Samples from different cultural layers (CLs), plough layers, and native soils (control) were studied. We identified anthracomass accumulation over a wide chronological scale starting from the Upper Paleolithic Period. The high degree of preservation of anthracomass in ancient anthropogenically transformed soils was explained by the presence of large fragments of charred bones, which are more durable in comparison to wood charcoal. The anthracomass concentrations and stocks in the Early Iron Age plough layer were lower than those in the Medieval plough layer. CLs were generally more enriched in the anthracomass than plough layers, due to their sedimentational genesis, which is more favorable for anthracomass preservation than the turbational genesis of plough layers. However, the differences between charred particle sizes in synlithogenic CLs and turbational plough layers were less clear than expected, due to the specific conditions of formation of each particular layer, e.g., burial rate, duration of ploughing, and type of agricultural land use.

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Recent fire regime in the southern boreal forests of western Siberia is unprecedented in the last five millennia

Cited by 57 publications

References 48 publications

Wildfire history of the boreal forest of southwestern Yakutia (Siberia) over the last two millennia documented by a lake-sedimentary charcoal record

Wildfire history of the boreal forest of southwestern Yakutia (Siberia) over the last two millennia documented by a lake-sedimentary charcoal record

Comment on bg-2021-1

The Pyrogenic Archives of Anthropogenically Transformed Soils in Central Russia

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