Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta
Abstract. Spatial and temporal variations in fire frequency in the boreal forest of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) were assessed using forest stand age, fire scar and historical data. I test the hypotheses that (1) fire frequency is higher in jack pine forests and aspen forests than in black spru...
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ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:aspen_bib-2463 2024-02-11T10:09:23+01:00 Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta Larsen, C.P.S. 1997-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/1462 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x unknown Hosted by Utah State University Libraries https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/1462 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. Aspen Bibliography forest-fires boreal-forests national-parks frequency- spatial-variation temporal-variation fire-ecology synecology- open-water lakes- rivers- streams- history- Plant-ecology:-general fire-frequency boreal-forest Canada -Alberta -Wood-Buffalo-National-Park forests fires spatial distribution chronology water balance Alberta Terrestrial-Ecology (Ecology- Environmental-Sciences) Coniferopsida-: Gymnospermae- Spermatophyta- Plantae- black-spruce (Coniferopsida-) jack-pine (Coniferopsida-) white-spruce (Coniferopsida-) Gymnosperms- Plants- Spermatophytes- Vascular-Plants climate- fire-frequency: spatial-variation fire-scar forest-stand-age mean-waterbreak-distance Forest Sciences text 1997 ftutahsudc https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x 2024-01-18T18:41:31Z Abstract. Spatial and temporal variations in fire frequency in the boreal forest of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) were assessed using forest stand age, fire scar and historical data. I test the hypotheses that (1) fire frequency is higher in jack pine forests and aspen forests than in black spruce forests and white spruce forests, (2) these variations in fire frequency can be related to the mean waterbreak distance (MWD) around a site and (3) fire frequency has changed over the past 300 years. The fire cycles (the time required to burn an area equal in size to the entire study area) in jack pine forests (39 years) and in aspen forests (39 years) were significantly shorter than those in black spruce forests (78 years) and in white spruce forests (96 years). The length of the fire cycle varies inversely with the MWD around a site, and the MWD was significantly higher in jack pine and aspen forests than in black or white spruce forests. It is suggested that covariations between soil type and the MWD influence, respectively, variations in forest dominant and fire frequency. A change in fire frequency at 1860 was apparent in the fire history for all of WBNP, the black spruce dominated stands, and the near and medium MWD classes. The fire cycle estimates for these classes were all significantly shorter during the period 1750 to 1859 (fire cycles = 25–49 years) than they were in the period 1860 to 1989 (fire cycles = 59–89 years). The possible roles of changes in climate and aboriginal burning practices in causing the temporal change in fire frequency are discussed. Text Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU Canada Wood Buffalo ENVELOPE(-112.007,-112.007,57.664,57.664) Journal of Biogeography 24 5 663 673 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
op_collection_id |
ftutahsudc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
forest-fires boreal-forests national-parks frequency- spatial-variation temporal-variation fire-ecology synecology- open-water lakes- rivers- streams- history- Plant-ecology:-general fire-frequency boreal-forest Canada -Alberta -Wood-Buffalo-National-Park forests fires spatial distribution chronology water balance Alberta Terrestrial-Ecology (Ecology- Environmental-Sciences) Coniferopsida-: Gymnospermae- Spermatophyta- Plantae- black-spruce (Coniferopsida-) jack-pine (Coniferopsida-) white-spruce (Coniferopsida-) Gymnosperms- Plants- Spermatophytes- Vascular-Plants climate- fire-frequency: spatial-variation fire-scar forest-stand-age mean-waterbreak-distance Forest Sciences |
spellingShingle |
forest-fires boreal-forests national-parks frequency- spatial-variation temporal-variation fire-ecology synecology- open-water lakes- rivers- streams- history- Plant-ecology:-general fire-frequency boreal-forest Canada -Alberta -Wood-Buffalo-National-Park forests fires spatial distribution chronology water balance Alberta Terrestrial-Ecology (Ecology- Environmental-Sciences) Coniferopsida-: Gymnospermae- Spermatophyta- Plantae- black-spruce (Coniferopsida-) jack-pine (Coniferopsida-) white-spruce (Coniferopsida-) Gymnosperms- Plants- Spermatophytes- Vascular-Plants climate- fire-frequency: spatial-variation fire-scar forest-stand-age mean-waterbreak-distance Forest Sciences Larsen, C.P.S. Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta |
topic_facet |
forest-fires boreal-forests national-parks frequency- spatial-variation temporal-variation fire-ecology synecology- open-water lakes- rivers- streams- history- Plant-ecology:-general fire-frequency boreal-forest Canada -Alberta -Wood-Buffalo-National-Park forests fires spatial distribution chronology water balance Alberta Terrestrial-Ecology (Ecology- Environmental-Sciences) Coniferopsida-: Gymnospermae- Spermatophyta- Plantae- black-spruce (Coniferopsida-) jack-pine (Coniferopsida-) white-spruce (Coniferopsida-) Gymnosperms- Plants- Spermatophytes- Vascular-Plants climate- fire-frequency: spatial-variation fire-scar forest-stand-age mean-waterbreak-distance Forest Sciences |
description |
Abstract. Spatial and temporal variations in fire frequency in the boreal forest of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) were assessed using forest stand age, fire scar and historical data. I test the hypotheses that (1) fire frequency is higher in jack pine forests and aspen forests than in black spruce forests and white spruce forests, (2) these variations in fire frequency can be related to the mean waterbreak distance (MWD) around a site and (3) fire frequency has changed over the past 300 years. The fire cycles (the time required to burn an area equal in size to the entire study area) in jack pine forests (39 years) and in aspen forests (39 years) were significantly shorter than those in black spruce forests (78 years) and in white spruce forests (96 years). The length of the fire cycle varies inversely with the MWD around a site, and the MWD was significantly higher in jack pine and aspen forests than in black or white spruce forests. It is suggested that covariations between soil type and the MWD influence, respectively, variations in forest dominant and fire frequency. A change in fire frequency at 1860 was apparent in the fire history for all of WBNP, the black spruce dominated stands, and the near and medium MWD classes. The fire cycle estimates for these classes were all significantly shorter during the period 1750 to 1859 (fire cycles = 25–49 years) than they were in the period 1860 to 1989 (fire cycles = 59–89 years). The possible roles of changes in climate and aboriginal burning practices in causing the temporal change in fire frequency are discussed. |
format |
Text |
author |
Larsen, C.P.S. |
author_facet |
Larsen, C.P.S. |
author_sort |
Larsen, C.P.S. |
title |
Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta |
title_short |
Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta |
title_full |
Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern Alberta |
title_sort |
spatial and temporal variations in boreal forest fire frequency in northern alberta |
publisher |
Hosted by Utah State University Libraries |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/1462 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-112.007,-112.007,57.664,57.664) |
geographic |
Canada Wood Buffalo |
geographic_facet |
Canada Wood Buffalo |
genre |
Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park |
genre_facet |
Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park |
op_source |
Aspen Bibliography |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/aspen_bib/1462 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x |
op_rights |
Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00076.x |
container_title |
Journal of Biogeography |
container_volume |
24 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
663 |
op_container_end_page |
673 |
_version_ |
1790609286921977856 |