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Fuel availability not fire weather controls boreal wildfire severity and carbon emissions

Author

Listed:
  • X. J. Walker

    (Northern Arizona University)

  • B. M. Rogers

    (Woodwell Climate Research Center)

  • S. Veraverbeke

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • J. F. Johnstone

    (University of Saskatchewan
    University of Alaska Fairbanks)

  • J. L. Baltzer

    (Wilfrid Laurier University)

  • K. Barrett

    (University of Leicester)

  • L. Bourgeau-Chavez

    (Michigan Technological University)

  • N. J. Day

    (Wilfrid Laurier University
    Auckland University of Technology)

  • W. J. Groot

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • C. M. Dieleman

    (University of Guelph)

  • S. Goetz

    (Northern Arizona University)

  • E. Hoy

    (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Global Science & Technology, Inc.)

  • L. K. Jenkins

    (Michigan Technological University
    University of Michigan)

  • E. S. Kane

    (Michigan Technological University)

  • M.-A. Parisien

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • S. Potter

    (Woodwell Climate Research Center)

  • E. A. G. Schuur

    (Northern Arizona University)

  • M. Turetsky

    (University of Guelph
    University of Colorado Boulder)

  • E. Whitman

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • M. C. Mack

    (Northern Arizona University)

Abstract

Carbon (C) emissions from wildfires are a key terrestrial–atmosphere interaction that influences global atmospheric composition and climate. Positive feedbacks between climate warming and boreal wildfires are predicted based on top-down controls of fire weather and climate, but C emissions from boreal fires may also depend on bottom-up controls of fuel availability related to edaphic controls and overstory tree composition. Here we synthesized data from 417 field sites spanning six ecoregions in the northwestern North American boreal forest and assessed the network of interactions among potential bottom-up and top-down drivers of C emissions. Our results indicate that C emissions are more strongly driven by fuel availability than by fire weather, highlighting the importance of fine-scale drainage conditions, overstory tree species composition and fuel accumulation rates for predicting total C emissions. By implication, climate change-induced modification of fuels needs to be considered for accurately predicting future C emissions from boreal wildfires.

Suggested Citation

  • X. J. Walker & B. M. Rogers & S. Veraverbeke & J. F. Johnstone & J. L. Baltzer & K. Barrett & L. Bourgeau-Chavez & N. J. Day & W. J. Groot & C. M. Dieleman & S. Goetz & E. Hoy & L. K. Jenkins & E. S. , 2020. "Fuel availability not fire weather controls boreal wildfire severity and carbon emissions," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(12), pages 1130-1136, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:10:y:2020:i:12:d:10.1038_s41558-020-00920-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-00920-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Hong Wen Yu & S. Y. Simon Wang & Wan Yu Liu, 2024. "Estimating wildfire potential in Taiwan under different climate change scenarios," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(1), pages 1-26, January.
    2. Wei Shan & Lisha Qiu & Ying Guo & Chengcheng Zhang & Zhichao Xu & Shuai Liu, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics of Fire Scars Further Prove the Correlation between Permafrost Swamp Wildfires and Methane Geological Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.

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