Direct carbon emissions from Canadian forest fires, 1959-1999

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 512-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
B D Amiro ◽  
J B Todd ◽  
B M Wotton ◽  
K A Logan ◽  
M D Flannigan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Post Fire Effects ◽  
Large Fires ◽  
Sink Condition ◽  
The Mean

Direct emissions of carbon from Canadian forest fires were estimated for all Canada and for each ecozone for the period 1959–1999. The estimates were based on a data base of large fires for the country and calculations of fuel consumption for each fire using the Canadian Forest Fire Behaviour Prediction System. This technique used the fire locations and start dates to estimate prevailing fire weather and fuel type for each of about 11 000 fires. An average of 2 × 106 ha·year–1 was burned in this period, varying from 0.3 × 106 ha in 1978 to 7.5 × 106 ha in 1989. Ecozones of the boreal and taiga areas experienced the greatest area burned, releasing most of the carbon (C). The mean area-weighted fuel consumption for all fires was 2.6 kg dry fuel·m–2 (1.3 kg C·m–2), but ecozones vary from 1.8 to 3.9 kg dry fuel·m–2. The mean annual estimate of direct carbon emissions was 27 ± 6 Tg C·year–1. Individual years ranged from 3 to 115 Tg C·year–1. These direct fire emissions represent about 18% of the current carbon dioxide emissions from the Canadian energy sector, on average, but vary from 2 to 75% among years. Post-fire effects cause an additional loss of carbon and changes to the forest sink condition.

scholarly journals Modeling Regional-Scale Wildland Fire Emissions with the Wildland Fire Emissions Information System*

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy H. F. French ◽  
Donald McKenzie ◽  
Tyler Erickson ◽  
Benjamin Koziol ◽  
Michael Billmire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information System ◽  
North America ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
The U.S ◽  
The Web

Abstract As carbon modeling tools become more comprehensive, spatial data are needed to improve quantitative maps of carbon emissions from fire. The Wildland Fire Emissions Information System (WFEIS) provides mapped estimates of carbon emissions from historical forest fires in the United States through a web browser. WFEIS improves access to data and provides a consistent approach to estimating emissions at landscape, regional, and continental scales. The system taps into data and tools developed by the U.S. Forest Service to describe fuels, fuel loadings, and fuel consumption and merges information from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration on fire location and timing. Currently, WFEIS provides web access to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area for North America and U.S. fire-perimeter maps from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity products from the USGS, overlays them on 1-km fuel maps for the United States, and calculates fuel consumption and emissions with an open-source version of the Consume model. Mapped fuel moisture is derived from daily meteorological data from remote automated weather stations. In addition to tabular output results, WFEIS produces multiple vector and raster formats. This paper provides an overview of the WFEIS system, including the web-based system functionality and datasets used for emissions estimates. WFEIS operates on the web and is built using open-source software components that work with open international standards such as keyhole markup language (KML). Examples of emissions outputs from WFEIS are presented showing that the system provides results that vary widely across the many ecosystems of North America and are consistent with previous emissions modeling estimates and products.

scholarly journals Comparison of approaches for reporting forest fire-related biomass loss and greenhouse gas emissions in southern Europe

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vincenza Chiriacò ◽  
Lucia Perugini ◽  
Dora Cimini ◽  
Enrico D'Amato ◽  
Riccardo Valentini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Biomass Loss ◽  
Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems

Wildfires are the most common disturbances in Mediterranean forest ecosystems that cause significant emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of biomass burning. Despite this, there is reasonably high uncertainty regarding the actual fraction of burnt biomass and the related CO2 and non-CO2 gas emissions released during forest fires. The aim of this paper is to compare existing methodologies adopted in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports of five of the most fire-affected countries of southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, France) with those proposed in the literature, to operationally estimate forest fire emissions, and to discuss current perspectives on reducing uncertainties in reporting activities for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Five selected approaches have been experimentally applied for the estimation of burnt biomass in forest fire events that occurred in Italy in the period 2008–2010. Approaches based on nominal rates of biomass loss can lead to an overly conservative value or, conversely, to underestimation of the fraction of burnt biomass. Uncertainties can be greatly reduced by an operational method able to assess inter-annual and local variability of fire effects on fire-affected forest types.

Estimates of carbon emissions from forest fires in Japan, 1979–2008

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Goto ◽  
Satoru Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Trace Gases ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Carbon Cycles ◽  
Trace Gas Emissions ◽  
Carbon Release ◽  
Annual Carbon ◽  
The Mean

Emissions from forest fires directly affect the global and regional carbon cycles by increasing atmospheric carbon as well as affecting carbon sequestration by forests. We have estimated the release of total carbon, carbon-based trace gases (CO2, CO, CH4) and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) emitted from forest fires in Japan during a 30-year period from 1979 through 2008. The area burnt varied widely from year to year but has gradually diminished since the 1980s. The mean annual area burnt during the period was 1878 ha. The mean annual estimate of direct carbon emissions from forest fires in Japan was 15.8 Gg C year–1 and ranged between 2.7 and 60.4 Gg C year–1. The mean annual trace gas emissions were 49.4 Gg CO2 year–1, 3.4 Gg CO year–1, 0.15 Gg CH4 year–1 and 0.18 Gg NMHC year–1. Although the carbon emissions varied widely from year to year based on the area burnt, they decreased dramatically from the 1980s onward. The interannual variations in trace gases parallel the total carbon emissions. The direct emissions from forest fires in Japan were substantially lower compared with the mean annual net primary production of Japanese forests or the carbon release in other countries and regions. However, the average annual carbon released per unit area burnt was comparable to that estimated in other regions and rose gradually with the increasing age of plantations.

Predicting litter and live herb fuel consumption during prescribed fires in native and old-field upland pine communities of the southeastern United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1611-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. Reid ◽  
Kevin M. Robertson ◽  
Tracy L. Hmielowski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Prescribed Fires ◽  
Old Field ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Fuel Loads

The ability to predict fuel consumption during fires is essential for a wide range of applications, including estimation of fire effects and fire emissions. This project identified predictors of fuel consumption for the dominant fuel bed components (litter (<0.6-cm diameter dead material) and live herbs) during 217 prescribed fires in native longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris Mill.) and old-field loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) – shortleaf pine ( Pinus echinata Mill.) communities in the southeastern United States. Additionally, these data were used to validate the First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM) fuel consumption computer model using custom and default fuel loads. Regression models using empirical data suggested that litter and live herb fuel consumption can be predicted by prefire litter and live herb fuel loads, litter and live herb fuel moisture, litter fuel bed bulk density, season of burn, years since fire, days since last rain ≥0.64 cm, relative humidity, energy release component, community type, pine and hardwood basal areas, and the Keetch–Byram drought index. FOFEM’s prediction of fuel consumption for litter, live herbs, and duff combined using default fuel loads was 1.5 times the measured fuel consumption (where duff fuel load was zero). Refinement of FOFEM’s fuel load and consumption calculations in the studied community types using the newly collected data and suggestions for model improvement would provide more accurate air quality inventories and assist in guiding appropriate regulation of prescribed fire.

Estimating direct carbon emissions from Canadian wildland fires

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 593 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. de Groot ◽  
Robert Landry ◽  
Werner A. Kurz ◽  
Kerry R. Anderson ◽  
Peter Englefield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Forest Sector ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Area Burned

In support of Canada’s National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System, a project was initiated to develop and test procedures for estimating direct carbon emissions from fires. The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) provides the infrastructure for these procedures. Area burned and daily fire spread estimates are derived from satellite products. Spatially and temporally explicit indices of burning conditions for each fire are calculated by CWFIS using fire weather data. The Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) provides detailed forest type and leading species information, as well as pre-fire fuel load data. The Boreal Fire Effects Model calculates fuel consumption for different live biomass and dead organic matter pools in each burned cell according to fuel type, fuel load, burning conditions, and resulting fire behaviour. Carbon emissions are calculated from fuel consumption. CWFIS summarises the data in the form of disturbance matrices and provides spatially explicit estimates of area burned for national reporting. CBM-CFS3 integrates, at the national scale, these fire data with data on forest management and other disturbances. The methodology for estimating fire emissions was tested using a large-fire pilot study. A framework to implement the procedures at the national scale is described.

Forest floor fuel consumption and carbon emissions in Canadian boreal forest fires

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.J. de Groot ◽  
J.M. Pritchard ◽  
T.J. Lynham
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Fire Weather Index ◽  
Experimental Burn ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

In many forest types, over half of the total stand biomass is located in the forest floor. Carbon emissions during wildland fire are directly related to biomass (fuel) consumption. Consumption of forest floor fuel varies widely and is the greatest source of uncertainty in estimating total carbon emissions during fire. We used experimental burn data (59 burns, four fuel types) and wildfire data (69 plots, four fuel types) to develop a model of forest floor fuel consumption and carbon emissions in nonpeatland standing-timber fuel types. The experimental burn and wildfire data sets were analyzed separately and combined by regression to provide fuel consumption models. Model variables differed among fuel types, but preburn fuel load, duff depth, bulk density, and Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System components at the time of burning were common significant variables. The regression R2 values ranged from 0.206 to 0.980 (P < 0.001). The log–log model for all data combined explained 79.5% of the regression variation and is now being used to estimate annual carbon emissions from wildland fire. Forest floor carbon content at the wildfires ranged from 40.9% to 53.9%, and the carbon emission rate ranged from 0.29 to 2.43 kg·m–2.

The impact of wildfires in Ukraine on carbon flux and air quality changes by carbon-containing compounds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mykhailo Savenets ◽  
Larysa Pysarenko
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Content Increase ◽  
Total Contribution ◽  
Open Burning ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Summer Maximum ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Wildfires remain among the most challenging problems in Ukraine. Each year numerous cases of open burning contribute to huge carbon emissions and turn into forest fires. Using the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED4), there were studied an average burned fraction in Ukraine, which equals of about 0.2-0.3. 90% of wildfires appeared on agricultural lands. The total contribution to carbon emissions is 0.2-1.0 g&amp;#903;m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#903;month&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; with the increasing trend of about 1-2 g&amp;#903;m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#903;month&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; per decade. There are three periods with the highest carbon emissions: April, July-August and September-October. While a summer maximum is corresponding to unfavorable temperature and moisture regimes, the main reason of wildfires in spring and autumn is the agricultural open burning. Based on the Sentinel-5P data, it was found that wildfires significantly change the seasonality of carbon monoxide (CO) variations. If maximal CO content is mainly observed in winter at the end of the heating season, in Ukraine the highest CO values continue to exist in April until the open burning stops and the resulting forest fires are extinguished. Wildfires caused the CO content increase to 4.0&amp;#8211;5.0 mol&amp;#903;m&lt;sup&gt;-2&lt;/sup&gt; which is comparable to the most polluted Ukrainian industrial cities. As a result, air quality deterioration observed at the distances more than 200 km from the burned areas. Using the Enviro-HIRLAM simulations, there were estimated black carbon (BC) distribution, which showed elevated content within the lowest 3-km layer. BC content reaches 600 ppbm near the active fires, 150 ppbm at the distance up to 100 km and 30 ppbm at the distance of about 200-500 km.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Carbon Emissions from the Transportation Sector during the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 940 (1) ◽  
pp. 012039
Author(s):  
E Nurjani ◽  
K P Hafizha ◽  
D Purwanto ◽  
F Ulumia ◽  
M Widyastuti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Consumption Pattern ◽  
Transportation Sector ◽  
Special Region

Abstract Government policies to curb the Covid-19 pandemic have drastically changed the pattern of energy demand worldwide. Closed borders and international travel bans have changed consumption patterns and reduced transport use, thus significantly lowering carbon emissions in several countries, particularly urban areas in the Southeast Asia region. Based on these conditions, the study aimed to analyze carbon dioxide emissions generated by the transportation sector in the Special Region of Yogyakarta during the pandemic. The required data, serving as research objects, included fuel consumption, fuel sales, transportation sector activities, road sections, and road density derived from the Transportation Department’s traffic cameras and BPS-Statistics Indonesia. Google Form was also used to collect information for fuel consumption pattern analysis. The Covid-19 - Google Global Mobility Report was used to map trends of change in the respondents’ activity and mobility. The results showed that, from 2019 to 2020, the fuel consumption decreased by 74 kL/year and the CO2 emissions by 169,865 tons/year. Government policies, including the large-scale social activity restrictions implemented for the first time in the region, have influenced community mobility trends across different categories of places.

scholarly journals Daily burned area and carbon emissions from boreal fires in Alaska

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 17579-17629
Author(s):  
S. Veraverbeke ◽  
B. M. Rogers ◽  
J. T. Randerson
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Carbon Consumption ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Spruce Stands

Abstract. Boreal fires burn carbon-rich organic soils, thereby releasing large quantities of trace gases and aerosols that influence atmospheric composition and climate. To better understand the factors regulating boreal fire emissions, we developed a statistical model of carbon consumption by fire for Alaska with a spatial resolution of 500 m and a temporal resolution of one day. We used the model to estimate variability in carbon emissions between 2001 and 2012. Daily burned area was mapped using imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer combined with perimeters from the Alaska Large Fire Database. Carbon consumption was calibrated using available field measurements from black spruce forests in Alaska. We built two nonlinear multiplicative models to separately predict above- and belowground carbon consumption by fire in response to environmental variables including elevation, day of burning within the fire season, pre-fire tree cover and the differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR). Higher belowground consumption occurred later in the season and for mid-elevation regions. Aboveground and belowground consumption also increased as a function of tree cover and the dNBR, suggesting a causal link between the processes regulating these two components of consumption. Between 2001 and 2012, the median fuel consumption was 2.48 kg C m-2 and the median pixel-based uncertainty (SD of prediction error) was 0.38 kg C m-2. There were considerable amounts of burning in other cover types than black spruce and consumption in pure black spruce stands was generally higher. Fuel consumption originated primarily from the belowground fraction (median = 2.30 kg C m-2 for all cover types and 2.63 kg C m-2 for pure black spruce stands). Total carbon emissions varied considerably from year to year, with the highest emissions occurring during 2004 (67 Tg C), 2005 (44 Tg C), 2009 (25 Tg C), and 2002 (16 Tg C) and a mean of 14 Tg C per year between 2001 and 2012. Our analysis highlights the importance of accounting for the spatial heterogeneity within fuels and consumption when extrapolating emissions in space and time. This data on daily burned area and emissions may be useful for in understanding controls and limits on fire growth, and predicting potential feedbacks of changing fire regimes.

Emissions of air pollutants by Canadian wildfires from 2000 to 2004

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lavoué ◽  
Brian J. Stocks
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Emission Model ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Fire Emissions

A wildfire emission model, based on the Canadian Forest Fire Behaviour Prediction System and the Canadian weather forecast Global Environmental Multiscale model, was applied to forest fires that occurred in Canada between 2000 and 2004. Emissions of 21 chemical species and injection heights were calculated hourly for a regular 0.4° grid, with injection heights corresponding to the maximum altitude reached by a convective plume over a fire every hour. Wildfire emissions were compared with anthropogenic fossil fuel combustion sources at provincial, territorial and national levels. The 2002 fire season in central Quebec accounted for ~30, 60 and 80% of the annual primary greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide and black carbon emissions respectively for that province. In 2003, fires represented 60 and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in Manitoba and British Columbia respectively. During the 2004 fire season in north-western Canada, when area burned was above average, fires were responsible for almost all greenhouse gas emissions occurring in the sparsely populated Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories. On average, between 2000 and 2004, fires contributed 10, 30 and 40% of Canadian annual greenhouse gases, CO and black carbon emissions respectively. This methodology for calculating wildland fire emissions is also applicable to other regions of the world.

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