Increased damage from fires in logged forests during droughts caused by El Niño

In 1997-98, fires associated with an exceptional drought caused by the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) devastated large areas of tropical rain forests worldwide. Evidence suggests that in tropical rainforest environments selective logging may lead to an increased susceptibility of forests to fire. We investigated whether this was true in the Indonesian fires, the largest fire disaster ever observed. We performed a multiscale analysis using coarse- and high-resolution optical and radar satellite imagery assisted by ground and aerial surveys to assess the extent of the fire-damaged area and the effect on vegetation in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. A total of 5.2 +/- 0.3 million hectares including 2.6 million hectares of forest was burned with varying degrees of damage. Forest fires primarily affected recently logged forests; primary forests or those logged long ago were less affected. These results support the hypothesis of positive feedback between logging and fire occurrence. The fires severely damaged the remaining forests and significantly increased the risk of recurrent fire disasters by leaving huge amounts of dead flammable wood.     

Fire as the dominant driver of central Canadian boreal forest carbon balance

Changes in climate, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and fire regimes have been occurring for decades in the global boreal forest, with future climate change likely to increase fire frequency--the primary disturbance agent in most boreal forests. Previous attempts to assess quantitatively the effect of changing environmental conditions on the net boreal forest carbon balance have not taken into account the competition between different vegetation types on a large scale. Here we use a process model with three competing vascular and non-vascular vegetation types to examine the effects of climate, carbon dioxide concentrations and fire disturbance on net biome production, net primary production and vegetation dominance in 100 Mha of Canadian boreal forest. We find that the carbon balance of this region was driven by changes in fire disturbance from 1948 to 2005. Climate changes affected the variability, but not the mean, of the landscape carbon balance, with precipitation exerting a more significant effect than temperature. We show that more frequent and larger fires in the late twentieth century resulted in deciduous trees and mosses increasing production at the expense of coniferous trees. Our model did not however exhibit the increases in total forest net primary production that have been inferred from satellite data. We find that poor soil drainage decreased the variability of the landscape carbon balance, which suggests that increased climate and hydrological changes have the potential to affect disproportionately the carbon dynamics of these areas. Overall, we conclude that direct ecophysiological changes resulting from global climate change have not yet been felt in this large boreal region. Variations in the landscape carbon balance and vegetation dominance have so far been driven largely by increases in fire frequency.     

An abrupt climate event in a coupled ocean-atmosphere simulation without external forcing

Temperature reconstructions from the North Atlantic region indicate frequent abrupt and severe climate fluctuations during the last glacial and Holocene periods. The driving forces for these events are unclear and coupled atmosphere-ocean models of global circulation have only simulated such events by inserting large amounts of fresh water into the northern North Atlantic Ocean. Here we report a drastic cooling event in a 15,000-yr simulation of global circulation with present-day climate conditions without the use of such external forcing. In our simulation, the annual average surface temperature near southern Greenland spontaneously fell 6-10 standard deviations below its mean value for a period of 30-40 yr. The event was triggered by a persistent northwesterly wind that transported large amounts of buoyant cold and fresh water into the northern North Atlantic Ocean. Oceanic convection shut down in response to this flow, concentrating the entire cooling of the northern North Atlantic by the colder atmosphere in the uppermost ocean layer. Given the similarity between our simulation and observed records of rapid cooling events, our results indicate that internal atmospheric variability alone could have generated the extreme climate disruptions in this region.     

基于MODIS数据的2001-2018年黑龙江省林火时空分布

[目的]黑龙江省是中国重要的林业省份之一,也是受林火危害最严重的地区之一.通过遥感数据获取森林火点信息,充分了解近年来黑龙江省林火发生的时空分布格局,探索林火发生规律.[方法]根据黑龙江省2001—2018年MODIS(分辨率成像光谱仪)遥感图像的MCD64A1火烧迹地产品数据集,提取林火火点信息,结合历史火灾记录资料...     

Fire science for rainforests

Forest fires are growing in size and frequency across the tropics. Continually eroding fragmented forest edges, they are unintended ecological disturbances that transcend deforestation to degrade vast regions of standing forest, diminishing ecosystem services and the economic potential of these natural resources. Affecting the health of millions, net forest fire emissions may have released carbon equivalent to 41% of worldwide fossil fuel use in 1997-98. Episodically more severe during El Ni?o events, pan-tropical forest fires will increase as more damaged, less fire-resistant, forests cover the landscape. Here I discuss the current state of tropical fire science and make recommendations for advancement.     

Ecology: human role in Russian wild fires

Anomalies in temperature and precipitation in northern Russia over the past few years have been viewed as manifestations of anthropogenic climate change, prompting suggestions that this may also account for exceptional forest fires in the region. Here we examine the number of forest-fire events across the boreal Russian Federation for the period 2002 to 2005 in 'intact' forests, where human influence is limited, and in 'non-intact' forests, which have been shaped by human activity. Our results show that there were more fires in years during which the weather was anomalous, but that more than 87% of fires in boreal Russia were started by people.     

A 16000-year pollen record of Qinghai Lake and its paleo-climate and paleoenvironment

The paleoclimate and paleoenvironment of Qinghai Lake indicated by a 16000-year pollen record are as follows. It was very cold and dry before 15200 years. During the Late Glacial, the climate varied from colder and semiarid to cool and semi-humid and fluctuated frequently but with little amplitude. Three cold events in the periods of 13400–13000, 11600–12000, and 11000–10400 aBP respectively correspond to the Oldest Dryas, Older Dryas and Younger Dryas events, whereas the two warm periods between them, 12000–13000 and 11600–11000 aBP, respectively correspond to Bölling and Alleröd periods. The temperature increased abruptly after the Younger Dryas event, and then the climate gradually turned to be warm and wet from warm and semiarid. In the Holocene, the largest amplitude of cold event that occurred at ca. 8200 aBP is quite prominent. The Holocene climatic optimum culminated at 6700 aBP. After 2100 aBP, the climate tended to be cold and dry, keeping on up to now. Palaeoclimatic evolution and events of Qinghai Lake based on pollen assemblage and concentrations can be well parallel with the global climatic events.     

More extreme swings of the South Pacific convergence zone due to greenhouse warming

The South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) is the Southern Hemisphere's most expansive and persistent rain band, extending from the equatorial western Pacific Ocean southeastward towards French Polynesia. Owing to its strong rainfall gradient, a small displacement in the position of the SPCZ causes drastic changes to hydroclimatic conditions and the frequency of extreme weather events--such as droughts, floods and tropical cyclones--experienced by vulnerable island countries in the region. The SPCZ position varies from its climatological mean location with the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), moving a few degrees northward during moderate El Ni?o events and southward during La Ni?a events. During strong El Ni?o events, however, the SPCZ undergoes an extreme swing--by up to ten degrees of latitude toward the Equator--and collapses to a more zonally oriented structure with commensurately severe weather impacts. Understanding changes in the characteristics of the SPCZ in a changing climate is therefore of broad scientific and socioeconomic interest. Here we present climate modelling evidence for a near doubling in the occurrences of zonal SPCZ events between the periods 1891-1990 and 1991-2090 in response to greenhouse warming, even in the absence of a consensus on how ENSO will change. We estimate the increase in zonal SPCZ events from an aggregation of the climate models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phases 3 and 5 (CMIP3 and CMIP5) multi-model database that are able to simulate such events. The change is caused by a projected enhanced equatorial warming in the Pacific and may lead to more frequent occurrences of extreme events across the Pacific island nations most affected by zonal SPCZ events.     

Paleoenvironmental information recorded by pollen in B-3GC gravity core in Okinawa Trough

Based on pollen records in B-3GC gravity core, environmental change since 9500 aBP of Okinawa Trough and its adjacent islands was derived. The result showed that the most time during this period was in a warm temperate climate except in middle Holocene (6800-4400 aBP) that was under subtropical climate control. During 9500–8300 aBP and 3100–2000 aBP periods, it appeared colder and drier than the rest time. The original area of pollen sources surrounding Okinawa Trough was covered by evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forest alternatively with mixed broad-leaf-conifer forest distributed in high mountainous areas. Usually, these three kinds of forests existed at the same time with difference in altitude. Pollen from subtropical and tropical plants increased obviously in about 5000–6000 aBP, reflecting a great lifting of vegetation zone and expansion of evergreen broad-leaf forest in the study area. However, there was a slight descending of plant zone and shrinking of evergreen broadleaf forest during 9500-8300 aBP and 3000-2000 aBP. During the remaining periods vegetation zone was higher than the present but in a limited range.     

基于信息矩阵的草原火灾损失风险研究

草原火灾是我国牧区多发的自然灾害之一,对牧区造成不同程度的财产损失和人员伤亡,给我国畜牧业的生产造成了很大影响.因此研究草原火灾发生次数与草原火灾造成的经济损失之间的关系对理解草原火灾各因子之间的关系,有效地进行防灾减灾具有重要意义.选取吉林省1995—2005年的草原火灾次数和草原火灾经济损失两个指标,基于信息矩阵方法得到草原火灾次数和经济损失两个指标之间的模糊关系矩阵.通过计算发现,当草原火灾发生次数小于30次时,草原火灾损失随草原火灾次数呈现不规则增长;当草原火灾次数大于40次时,草原火灾损失基本稳定在15万元左右.     

葫芦岛市城市火灾分布的特点及其对城市火险分析的启示

火灾是城市、城镇的主要危害之一,城市火灾动力学关系到人们的生命和财产安全。研究了城市火灾的分布情况以及火灾频率与气象参数的关系,发现城市火灾的频率-尺度分布以及频率-时间间隔分布满足幂律关系。这表明大火灾和小火灾之间存在相互关联,由小火灾的发生频率可以预测大火灾的发生频率。研究火灾频率和气象参数(如温度,湿度)之间的关系,结果表明火灾频率随着某些气象参数变化而变化,并且呈现一定的规律性,说明通过气象参数预测城市火灾发生频率是可行的。所做工作可望揭示城市火灾的一些复杂特征,对城市火灾风险分析也有一定的帮助。     

A biomass burning record from the Lingtai Loess Section during the last 370 ka and implication for climate and environment

Every moment of every day somewhere on Earth a wildfire burns. Generally three conditions are needed to cause such a wildfire: fuel, ignition, and favorable cli-mate characterized by certain critical temperature, hu- midity and oxygen content, etc. Occurr…     

大兴安岭樟子松林火历史及火烧对林分结构的影响

为准确评价林火在大兴安岭樟子松林中的地位和作用，在大兴安岭呼伦贝尔盟莫尔道嘎林区樟子松林内，利用火疤木解析的方法，确定了3块火疤木集中的样地历史林火发生的年代及每次林火的火焰高度(h)；林火强度(I)通过经验公式计算；结合样地每木调查，推算了林火发生后样地林木胸径。研究表明，3块样地自1887～1976年间共发生10次林火，h为0．46～3．32m，I为48～3690 kw／m，平均林火间隔期(tMFI)约为19．8a。在樟子松林内高强度的火烧对林分生长造成破坏，迫使林分重新开始更新和演替，中度与低强度火作为一个自然选择力，排除抗火性较樟子松差的树种、灌木和杂草，加速养分循环，使存活下来的樟子松获得更大的存活与发展空间。tMFI与I成反比，因此过分干扰林火发生必将增加发生大火的可能性。     

The human footprint in the carbon cycle of temperate and boreal forests

Temperate and boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere cover an area of about 2 x 10(7) square kilometres and act as a substantial carbon sink (0.6-0.7 petagrams of carbon per year). Although forest expansion following agricultural abandonment is certainly responsible for an important fraction of this carbon sink activity, the additional effects on the carbon balance of established forests of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, increasing temperatures, changes in management practices and nitrogen deposition are difficult to disentangle, despite an extensive network of measurement stations. The relevance of this measurement effort has also been questioned, because spot measurements fail to take into account the role of disturbances, either natural (fire, pests, windstorms) or anthropogenic (forest harvesting). Here we show that the temporal dynamics following stand-replacing disturbances do indeed account for a very large fraction of the overall variability in forest carbon sequestration. After the confounding effects of disturbance have been factored out, however, forest net carbon sequestration is found to be overwhelmingly driven by nitrogen deposition, largely the result of anthropogenic activities. The effect is always positive over the range of nitrogen deposition covered by currently available data sets, casting doubts on the risk of widespread ecosystem nitrogen saturation under natural conditions. The results demonstrate that mankind is ultimately controlling the carbon balance of temperate and boreal forests, either directly (through forest management) or indirectly (through nitrogen deposition).     

呼伦贝尔市气候变化对森林草原火灾的影响及未来趋势分析

【目的】气候变暖是引发森林和草原火灾发生次数增加和过火面积扩大的重要因素。呼伦贝尔草原是中国北方地区重要的生态防护屏障,也是目前受气候变化影响最为严重的区域之一。通过研究呼伦贝尔市气候和森林草原火灾的历史变化,计算未来变化趋势以及干旱指数,为该地区应对气象灾害以及森林草原火灾的防御准备工作提供理论依据。【方法】利用重标极差(R/S)分析法、标准化降水蒸散指数(SPEI)分析等方法整理分析内蒙古自治区呼伦贝尔市1961—2018年的气象数据,得出过去及未来变化趋势以及干湿程度。通过分析1990—2018年呼伦贝尔市森林草原火灾数据,将气象要素与干旱状况分别与森林草原火灾数据相结合进行分析,得出火灾未来变化趋势。【结果】 ①1961—2018年内蒙古呼伦贝尔市气温和降水量增加,相对湿度和日照时间下降;气温未来变化趋势将与过去变化趋势相同,降水量、相对湿度、日照时间变化趋势将与过去变化趋势相反;2011年始呼伦贝尔市气候出现持续干旱状况,通过24个月的数据分析得出,未来将会持续保持干旱。②森林火灾的发生频度和过火面积均呈现上升趋势,分别为1次/a和318.38 hm ²/a;草原火灾的发生频度和过火面积均呈现下降趋势,分别为0.41次/a和12 486 hm ²/a。③当植物处于生长季时,草原火灾和森林火灾均与气温呈负相关,与降水量呈正相关,草原火灾与相对湿度和日照时间均呈正相关,森林火灾与相对湿度和日照时间均呈负相关。④森林草原的火灾频度和过火面积与短时间尺度SPEI均有很高的拟合程度,拟合曲线为二次函数。【结论】研究预测,未来呼伦贝尔地区干旱程度将会延续,森林草原火灾的发生与气象因素有很高的拟合度。建议当地有关部门在掌握本地气候变化基础上,制定合理的防护措施。     

Millennial and orbital variations of El Niño/Southern Oscillation and high-latitude climate in the last glacial period

The El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is believed to have operated continuously over the last glacial-interglacial cycle. ENSO variability has been suggested to be linked to millennial-scale oscillations in North Atlantic climate during that time, but the proposals disagree on whether increased frequency of El Ni?o events, the warm phase of ENSO, was linked to North Atlantic warm or cold periods. Here we present a high-resolution record of surface moisture, based on the degree of peat humification and the ratio of sedges to grass, from northern Queensland, Australia, covering the past 45,000 yr. We observe millennial-scale dry periods, indicating periods of frequent El Ni?o events (summer precipitation declines in El Ni?o years in northeastern Australia). We find that these dry periods are correlated to the Dansgaard-Oeschger events--millennial-scale warm events in the North Atlantic climate record--although no direct atmospheric connection from the North Atlantic to our site can be invoked. Additionally, we find climatic cycles at a semiprecessional timescale (approximately 11,900 yr). We suggest that climate variations in the tropical Pacific Ocean on millennial as well as orbital timescales, which determined precipitation in northeastern Australia, also exerted an influence on North Atlantic climate through atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections.     

Pollen record from red clay sequence in the central Loess Plateau between 8.10 and 2.60 Ma

The origin and development of Asian monsoon circula-tion, the desertification and aridification of Asian inland in relation to vegetation evolution and the soil erosion in northwest China have been more and more drawing inten-sive scientific and society attention. Recently the studiesof monsoon evolution from some Tertiary Red Clay sec-tions located at the central Loess Plateau in the eastern Liupan Mountains, based on chronology, dust flux, grains size, magnetic susceptibility, and rates o…     

Impacts of changed litter inputs on soil CO2 efflux in three forest types in central south China

Climate change is expected to cause the alteration of litter production in forests,which may result in substantial changes in soil CO2 efflux (FCO2) process as litter represents a major pathway of carbon from vegetation to the soils.In this study,we conducted an aboveground litter manipulation experiment to examine the influence of litter addition and exclusion on soil FCO2 in Camphor tree,Masson pine,and mixed Camphor tree and Masson pine forests in central south China.Litter input manipulation included three treatments:non-litter input (litter exclusion),double litter input (litter addition),and natural litter input (control).On average,litter exclusion significantly reduced soil FCO2 rate by approximately 39%,24% and 22% in Camphor tree forests,the Mixed forests,and Masson pine forests,respectively.On a yearly basis,double litter addition significantly increased soil CO2 by 12% in the Mixed forests (P=0.02) but not in both Camphor tree and Masson pine forests (P>0.05),when compared with their corresponding control treatments.However,litter addition increased soil FCO2 rates in the months of June-August in Camphor tree and Masson pine forests,coinciding with high soil temperature of summer conditions.Litter exclusion reduced soil FCO2 more than litter addition increased it in the study sites.Responses of soil respiration to litter input treatments varied with forest types.Litter input treatments did not alter the seasonal patterns of soil temperature and soil water content.Our results indicated that changes in aboveground litter as a result of global climate change and/or forest management have a great potential to alter soil respiration and soil carbon balance in forest ecosystems.     

林火对森林生态系统碳氮磷生态化学计量特征影响研究进展

林火可以改变森林生态系统元素的生态化学计量特征,反映火后森林生态系统环境中生物地球化学循环变化模式,阐明林火干扰下森林生态系统碳(C)氮(N)磷(P)生态化学计量特征,对于理解森林生态系统对林火干扰的响应机理至关重要.笔者通过查阅大量相关文献,总结与分析了林火干扰对森林生态系统C-N-P生态化学计量特征影响模式,以及林...     

Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) is a native insect of the pine forests of western North America, and its populations periodically erupt into large-scale outbreaks. During outbreaks, the resulting widespread tree mortality reduces forest carbon uptake and increases future emissions from the decay of killed trees. The impacts of insects on forest carbon dynamics, however, are generally ignored in large-scale modelling analyses. The current outbreak in British Columbia, Canada, is an order of magnitude larger in area and severity than all previous recorded outbreaks. Here we estimate that the cumulative impact of the beetle outbreak in the affected region during 2000-2020 will be 270 megatonnes (Mt) carbon (or 36 g carbon m(-2) yr(-1) on average over 374,000 km2 of forest). This impact converted the forest from a small net carbon sink to a large net carbon source both during and immediately after the outbreak. In the worst year, the impacts resulting from the beetle outbreak in British Columbia were equivalent to approximately 75% of the average annual direct forest fire emissions from all of Canada during 1959-1999. The resulting reduction in net primary production was of similar magnitude to increases observed during the 1980s and 1990s as a result of global change. Climate change has contributed to the unprecedented extent and severity of this outbreak. Insect outbreaks such as this represent an important mechanism by which climate change may undermine the ability of northern forests to take up and store atmospheric carbon, and such impacts should be accounted for in large-scale modelling analyses.