Fire return intervals within the northern boundary of the larch forest in Central Siberia

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav I. Kharuk ◽  
Mariya L. Dvinskaya ◽  
K. Jon Ranson
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fire Scars ◽  
Lightning Strikes ◽  
Larch Forests ◽  
History Of ◽  
In Fire

A fire history of northern larch forests was studied. These larch forests are found near the northern limit of their range at ~71°N, where fires are predominantly caused by lightning strikes rather than human activity. Fire-return intervals (FRIs) were calculated based on fire scars and dates of tree natality. Tree natality was used as an approximation of the date of the last fire. The average FRI was found to be 295±57 years, which is the longest reported for larch-dominated stands. Prior studies reported 80–90-year FRIs at 64°N and ~200 years near the latitude of the Arctic Circle. Comparing data from fires that occurred in 1700–1849 (end of the Little Ice Age, LIA) and 1850–1999 (post-LIA warming) indicates approximately twice as many fires occurred during the latter period. This agrees with the hypothesis that observed climatic warming will result in an increase in fire frequency. Our results also indicate that fires that did not leave visible fire scars on the tree stem may be identified based on the date of growth release revealed from dendrochronology.

Peatland development at the arctic tree line (Québec, Canada) influenced by flooding and permafrost

2007 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najat Bhiry ◽  
Serge Payette ◽  
Élisabeth C. Robert
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Small Lakes ◽  
The West ◽  
Peatland Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
Flooding Events ◽  
Differential Timing

AbstractIn this study, we documented the Holocene history of a peat plateau at the arctic tree line in northern Québec using stratigraphic and macrofossil analyses to highlight the effects of geomorphic setting in peatland development. Paludification of the site began about 6800 cal yr BP. From 6390 to 4120 cal yr BP, the peatland experienced a series of flooding events. The location of the peatland in a depression bounded by two small lakes likely explains its sensitivity to runoff. The proximity of a large hill bordering the peatland to the south possibly favored the inflow of mineral-laden water. The onset of permafrost aggradation in several parts of the peatland occurred after 3670 cal yr BP. Uplifting of the peatland surface caused by permafrost stopped the flooding. According to radiocarbon dating of the uppermost peat layers, permafrost distribution progressed from the east to the west of the peatland, indicating differential timing for the initiation of permafrost throughout the peatland. Most of the peatland was affected by permafrost growth during the Little Ice Age.Picea marianamacroremains at 6450 cal yr BP indicate that the species was present during the early stages of peatland development, which occurred soon after the sea regression.

Fire history from three species on a central Appalachian ridgetop

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 2031-2039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy E. Hessl ◽  
Tom Saladyga ◽  
Thomas Schuler ◽  
Peter Clark ◽  
Joshua Wixom
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Pinus Resinosa ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Fire Scars ◽  
Appalachian Forests ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Past Land Use

The impact of settlement era fires on Appalachian forests was substantial, but whether these fires affected the extent of fire-adapted ridgetop plant communities is poorly understood. Here we present fire history and stand structure of an Appalachian ridgetop (Pike Knob, West Virginia) based on fire scars from three species (Pinus pungens Lamb., Pinus resinosa Soland., and Quercus rubra L.) and stand structure from two species (P. pungens and P. resinosa). Our research objectives are to determine (i) the degree to which the fire frequency on Pike Knob was affected by European American settlement (~1780–1900) and (ii) how the history of fire on Pike Knob shaped the current age structure of P. resinosa and P. pungens. All three species documented fire activity beginning in the mid- to late 1800s and continuing into the middle of the 20th century, when pasture lands were most active. The majority of P. pungens and P. resinosa established during or shortly after the ~85-year period of fires (1868–1953), suggesting a strong influence of past land use on current forest composition. Ridgetop pine communities have been resilient to both the absence of fire and frequent fire, indicating that pine communities will also be resilient to modern fire management, whether fire is excluded or re-introduced.

scholarly journals Hydrological dynamics and fire history of the last 1300 years in western Siberia reconstructed from a high-resolution, ombrotrophic peat archive

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Lamentowicz ◽  
Michał Słowiński ◽  
Katarzyna Marcisz ◽  
Małgorzata Zielińska ◽  
Karolina Kaliszan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Western Siberia ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Testate Amoebae ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Fire Activity ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
History Of ◽  
In Fire

Siberian peatlands provide records of past changes in the continental climate of Eurasia. We analyzed a core from Mukhrino mire in western Siberia to reconstruct environmental change in this region over the last 1300 years. The pollen analysis revealed little variation of local pine-birch forests. A testate amoebae transfer function was used to generate a quantitative water-table reconstruction; pollen, plant macrofossils, and charcoal were analyzed to reconstruct changes in vegetation and fire activity. The study revealed that Mukhrino mire was wet until the Little Ice Age (LIA), when drought was recorded. Dry conditions during the LIA are consistent with other studies from central and eastern Europe, and with the pattern of carbon accumulation across the Northern Hemisphere. A significant increase in fire activity between ca. AD 1975 and 1990 may be associated with the development of the nearby city of Khanty-Mansiysk, as well as with the prevailing positive Arctic Oscillation.

Mangrove dynamics in the southwestern Caribbean since the ‘Little Ice Age’: A history of human and natural disturbances

The Holocene ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 849-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catalina González ◽  
Ligia Estela Urrego ◽  
José Ignacio Martínez ◽  
Jaime Polanía ◽  
Yusuke Yokoyama
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mangrove Dynamics

Fire regime shift linked to increased forest density in a piñon–juniper savanna landscape

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Q. Margolis
Keyword(s):  
Regime Shift ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
In Fire

Piñon–juniper (PJ) fire regimes are generally characterised as infrequent high-severity. However, PJ ecosystems vary across a large geographic and bio-climatic range and little is known about one of the principal PJ functional types, PJ savannas. It is logical that (1) grass in PJ savannas could support frequent, low-severity fire and (2) exclusion of frequent fire could explain increased tree density in PJ savannas. To assess these hypotheses I used dendroecological methods to reconstruct fire history and forest structure in a PJ-dominated savanna. Evidence of high-severity fire was not observed. From 112 fire-scarred trees I reconstructed 87 fire years (1547–1899). Mean fire interval was 7.8 years for fires recorded at ≥2 sites. Tree establishment was negatively correlated with fire frequency (r=–0.74) and peak PJ establishment was synchronous with dry (unfavourable) conditions and a regime shift (decline) in fire frequency in the late 1800s. The collapse of the grass-fuelled, frequent, surface fire regime in this PJ savanna was likely the primary driver of current high tree density (mean=881treesha–1) that is >600% of the historical estimate. Variability in bio-climatic conditions likely drive variability in fire regimes across the wide range of PJ ecosystems.

scholarly journals Neoglacial history of Robson Glacier, British Columbia

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 1153-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.H. Luckman ◽  
M.H. Masiokas ◽  
K. Nicolussi
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Canadian Rockies ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
History Of ◽  
Subfossil Wood ◽  
Glacier Advance

As glaciers in the Canadian Rockies recede, glacier forefields continue to yield subfossil wood from sites overridden by these glaciers during the Holocene. Robson Glacier in British Columbia formerly extended below tree line, and recession over the last century has progressively revealed a number of buried forest sites that are providing one of the more complete records of glacier history in the Canadian Rockies during the latter half of the Holocene. The glacier was advancing ca. 5.5 km upvalley of the Little Ice Age terminus ca. 5.26 cal ka BP, at sites ca. 2 km upvalley ca. 4.02 cal ka BP and ca. 3.55 cal ka BP, and 0.5–1 km upvalley between 1140 and 1350 A.D. There is also limited evidence based on detrital wood of an additional period of glacier advance ca. 3.24 cal ka BP. This record is more similar to glacier histories further west in British Columbia than elsewhere in the Rockies and provides the first evidence for a post-Hypsithermal glacier advance at ca. 5.26 cal ka BP in the Rockies. The utilization of the wiggle-matching approach using multiple 14C dates from sample locations determined by dendrochronological analyses enabled the recognition of 14C outliers and an increase in the precision and accuracy of the dating of glacier advances.

scholarly journals Lichenometry and Schmidt hammer tests in the Kaunertal glacier foreland (Ötztal Alps) during the AMADEE-15 Mars Mission Simulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 190-196
Author(s):  
Jan Czempiński ◽  
Maciej Dąbski
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Schmidt Hammer ◽  
Mars Mission ◽  
Frontal Part ◽  
Glacier Foreland ◽  
Glacier Front ◽  
Relative Stabilization ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mission Simulation

AbstractThe aim of this article is to show the results of the lichenometrical and Schmidt hammer measurements performed in 2015 during the AMADEE-15 Mars Mission Simulation in the Ötztal Alps in order to test the capabilities of analogue astronauts and collect information on the geomorphic history of the study area since the Little Ice Age (LIA). The results obtained differ significantly from our expectations, which we attribute to differences in the field experience of participants and the astronauts’ technical limitations in terms of mobility. However, the experiments proved that these methods are within the range of the astronauts’ capabilities. Environmental factors, such as i) varied petrography, ii) varied number of thalli in test polygons, and iii) differences in topoclimatic conditions between the LIA moraine and the glacier front, further inhibited simple interpretation. The LIA maximum of the Kaunertal glacier occurred in AD 1850, and relative stabilization of the frontal part of the rock glacier occurred in AD 1711.

Long-term fire history from alluvial fan sediments: the role of drought and climate variability, and implications for management of Rocky Mountain forests

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Pierce ◽  
Grant Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Grass Growth ◽  
In Fire

Alluvial fan deposits are widespread and preserve millennial-length records of fire. We used these records to examine changes in fire regimes over the last 2000 years in Yellowstone National Park mixed-conifer forests and drier central Idaho ponderosa pine forests. In Idaho, frequent, small, fire-related erosional events occurred within the Little Ice Age (~1450–1800 AD), when greater effective moisture probably promoted grass growth and low-severity fires. This regime is consistent with tree-ring records showing generally wetter conditions and frequent fires before European settlement. At higher elevations in Yellowstone, cool conditions limited overall fire activity. Conversely, both Idaho and Yellowstone experienced a peak in fire-related debris flows between ~950 and 1150 AD. During this generally warmer time, severe multidecadal droughts were interspersed with unusually wet intervals that probably increased forest densities, producing stand-replacing fires. Thus, severe fires are clearly within the natural range of variability in Idaho ponderosa pine forests over longer timescales. Historical records indicate that large burn areas in Idaho correspond with drought intervals within the past 100 years and that burn area has increased markedly since ~1985. Recent stand-replacing fires in ponderosa pine forests are likely related to both changes in management and increasing temperatures and drought severity during the 20th century.

scholarly journals Pre-Columbian agriculture, fire, and Spanish contact: A 4200-year record from Laguna Los Mangos, Costa Rica

The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1743-1757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik N Johanson ◽  
Sally P Horn ◽  
Chad S Lane
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Sediment Record ◽  
Maize Agriculture ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Early Portion ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Subsistence Activities

We present a lake-sediment record of pre-Columbian agriculture and fire history from the lowlands of southern Pacific Costa Rica that captures the arrival of maize agriculture at ca. 3360 cal yr BP in the Diquís subregion of the Gran Chiriquí archeological region. Our 4200-year record from Laguna Los Mangos begins 1000 to 2000 years earlier than other lake records from the region and provides the first microfossil and geochemical evidence of vegetation and fire prior to the establishment of maize agriculture. This early portion of the record shows evidence of fire events associated with land clearance or field preparation and maintenance for subsistence activities. Alternatively, these were wildfires ignited unintentionally by people or naturally by lightning or volcanism. Evidence of early maize by ca. 3200 cal yr BP was found at Laguna Zoncho in the southeastern section of the Diquís subregion. Our discovery of early maize agriculture at ca. 3360 cal yr BP in the Laguna Los Mangos watershed in the northwestern portion of the Diquís subregion indicates a rapid adoption of maize agriculture in the region after initial introduction. Pre-Columbian agriculture and fire activity at Los Mangos is nearly continual until historic times, but with a decline after ca. 1170 cal yr BP, coincident with the early Terminal Classic Drought (TCD). We infer a pronounced drying of the lowland environment at Laguna Los Mangos based on a depositional hiatus in the record at ca. 950 during late TCD. Agricultural proxies indicate reduced watershed activity during the ‘Little Ice Age’ following Spanish contact in southern Central America until the 20th century.

scholarly journals Accelerating retreat and high-elevation thinning of glaciers in central Spitsbergen

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1317-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Małecki
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Glacier Changes ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Geodetic Mass Balance ◽  
The 1960S

Abstract. Svalbard is a heavily glacier-covered archipelago in the Arctic. Dickson Land (DL), in the central part of the largest island, Spitsbergen, is relatively arid and, as a result, glaciers there are relatively small and restricted mostly to valleys and cirques. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of glacier changes in DL based on inventories compiled from topographic maps and digital elevation models for the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum, the 1960s, 1990, and 2009/2011. Total glacier area has decreased by  ∼ 38 % since the LIA maximum, and front retreat increased over the study period. Recently, most of the local glaciers have been consistently thinning in all elevation bands, in contrast to larger Svalbard ice masses which remain closer to balance. The mean 1990–2009/2011 geodetic mass balance of glaciers in DL is among the most negative from the Svalbard regional means known from the literature.

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