The frequency of forest fires in Scots pine stands of Tuva, Russia

Abstract

Forest fires resulting from long periods of drought cause extensive forest ecosystem destruction and can impact on the carbon balance and air quality and feed back to the climate system, regionally and globally. Past fire frequency is reconstructed for Tuvan Scots pine stands using dendrochronology and statistics. Central Tuvan Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands are subject to annual fire regimes; however high intensity fires are rare but they are responsible for most of the damage. Low, medium, and high severity fires have shaped the multi-story Scots pine communities, locally and regionally. Fire type and frequency are directly related to weather and climate and are also dependent on anthropogenic influences. The primary dry period, which promotes fire ignition and spread, in Tuva occurs in April and May. In some years, the precipitation deficit combined with high air temperatures induces long periods of drought. Unlike the typical surface fire regime, forest fires that burn during these extreme droughts often become crown fires that result in substantial forest damage and carbon release. The mean fire interval (MFI) is found to be 10.4 years in Balgazyn stands, and the landscape-scale MFI is 22.4 years. High severity, stand-replacing crown fires have a longer MFI. The warmer and dryer weather that is predicted by global climate models is evident in Tuva, and we believe that these changes in weather and climate have resulted in increased fire intensity and severity, rather than fire frequency in the Tuvan region.

Ice core records of biomass burning tracers (levoglucosan and dehydroabietic, vanillic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids) and total organic carbon for past 300 years in the Kamchatka Peninsula, Northeast Asia

“…More frequent forest fires in the boreal forest may have been caused as a result of recent global warming and drier conditions associated with the global change (Soja et al, 2007). The dominant vegetations of boreal forest in Siberia are characterized by larch, pine, spruce and fir (Ivanova et al, 2010). Dehydroabietic acid did not show a peak in the years when levoglucosan showed sporadic peaks although a simultaneous peak was observed in 1949 for two biomass burning tracers (Fig.…”

“…These events may have been caused by forest fires in Siberia because the sampling site is located downwind of Siberia (see Fig. 1), in which boreal forest fires are frequently occurring in spring, summer and autumn (Ivanova et al, 2010). In particular, the enhanced concentration of levoglucosan in the ice core around 1949 suggest enormous fire must have occurred at around that time, although there is no reported peak of forest fires at around 1949 in the southern Siberia ice core (Eichler et al, 2011).…”

Tamm Review: Observed and projected climate change impacts on Russia’s forests and its carbon balance

“…Ivanova et al (2010) have shown that extant climate change in combination with socioeconomic changes ($5 time decrease of the forest guard and substantial reduction of firefighting funds over the country during the last 15 years) has resulted in an increase in fire severity and area burned (but not fire frequency) in the Tuva region in southern Siberia. Moreover, the large forest fires that occurred in 2010 were due not only to unusual meteorological conditions but also to poor forest governance and management and an increasing area of abandoned farmlands leading to declining numbers of forest managers, forest firefighters, and less-efficient forest protection systems (Isaev andKorovin, 2014 andFlannigan et al, 2009).…”

“We Eat Only Meat” a Comparison of (Food) Cultures in Transition: Greenland and the Republic of Tyva

“…The Republic of Tyva (Rus: Respublika Tyva, area 169,000 km^2, Ivanova et al 2010) is one of 83 Federal subjects within the Russian Federation.…”

“…At the geographical center of the Asian continent, Tyva experiences a continental climate, with large daily and seasonal ranges of temperatures (Ivanova et al 2010). The population of Tyva is 307,925, 36 % of whom live in the capital Kyzyl Raionov Krainego Severa), a characterization based upon its extreme ecological and climatic conditions and difficulty of access, which lead to high costs of providing for the basic needs of the population.…”