Wildfires Dynamics in Siberian Larch Forests

• Published in: Forests
• Main Authors: Харук, Вячеслав Иванович, Пономарев, Евгений Иванович, Ranson, Kenneth J.
• Other Authors: Институт экологии и географии, Кафедра экологии и природопользования
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: wildfires; drought index; larch stands; fire return interval; fire frequency; burned area; climate-induced trends in Siberian wildfires; 34.35; Arctic; Siberia
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/7/6/125; http://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/69899; https://doi.org/10.3390/f7060125

Wildfire number and burned area temporal dynamics within all of Siberia and along a south-north transect in central Siberia (45–73 N) were studied based on NOAA/AVHRR (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/ Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) and Terra/MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data and field measurements for the period 1996–2015. In addition, fire return interval (FRI) along the south-north transect was analyzed. Both the number of forest fires and the size of the burned area increased during recent decades (p < 0.05). Significant correlations were found between forest fires, burned areas and air temperature (r = 0.5) and drought index (The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, SPEI) (r = -0.43). Within larch stands along the transect, wildfire frequency was strongly correlated with incoming solar radiation (r = 0.91). Fire danger period length decreased linearly from south to north along the transect. Fire return interval increased from 80 years at 62 N to 200 years at the Arctic Circle (66,33’ N), and to about 300 years near the northern limit of closed forest stands (about 71+ N). That increase was negatively correlated with incoming solar radiation (r = -0.95).