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Fires on Ice: Emerging Permafrost Peatlands Fire Regimes in Russia’s Subarctic Taiga

Author

Listed:
  • Vera Kuklina

    (Department of Geography, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
    V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia)

  • Oleg Sizov

    (Oil and Gas Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119333 Moscow, Russia)

  • Elena Rasputina

    (V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia)

  • Irina Bilichenko

    (V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia)

  • Natalia Krasnoshtanova

    (V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia)

  • Viktor Bogdanov

    (V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia)

  • Andrey N. Petrov

    (ARCTIC Center, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614, USA)

Abstract

Wildfires in permafrost areas, including smoldering fires (e.g., “zombie fires”), have increasingly become a concern in the Arctic and subarctic. Their detection is difficult and requires ground truthing. Local and Indigenous knowledge are becoming useful sources of information that could guide future research and wildfire management. This paper focuses on permafrost peatland fires in the Siberian subarctic taiga linked to local communities and their infrastructure. It presents the results of field studies in Evenki and old-settler communities of Tokma and Khanda in the Irkutsk region of Russia in conjunction with concurrent remote sensing data analysis. The study areas located in the discontinuous permafrost zone allow examination of the dynamics of wildfires in permafrost peatlands and adjacent forested areas. Interviews revealed an unusual prevalence and witness-observed characteristics of smoldering peatland fires over permafrost, such as longer than expected fire risk periods, impacts on community infrastructure, changes in migration of wild animals, and an increasing number of smoldering wildfires including overwintering “zombie fires” in the last five years. The analysis of concurrent satellite remote sensing data confirmed observations from communities, but demonstrated a limited capacity of satellite imagery to accurately capture changing wildfire activity in permafrost peatlands, which may have significant implications for global climate.

Suggested Citation

  • Vera Kuklina & Oleg Sizov & Elena Rasputina & Irina Bilichenko & Natalia Krasnoshtanova & Viktor Bogdanov & Andrey N. Petrov, 2022. "Fires on Ice: Emerging Permafrost Peatlands Fire Regimes in Russia’s Subarctic Taiga," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:322-:d:756065
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Arina O. Morozova & Kelsey E. Nyland & Vera V. Kuklina, 2023. "Taiga Landscape Degradation Evidenced by Indigenous Observations and Remote Sensing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.

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