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Larch forests of Middle Siberia: long-term trends in fire return intervals

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Abstract

Fire history within the northern larch forests of Central Siberia was studied (65 + °N). Fires within this area are predominantly caused by lightning strikes rather than human activity. Mean fire return intervals (FRIs) were found to be 112 ± 49 years (based on firescars) and 106 ± 36 years (based on firescars and tree natality dates). FRIs were increased with latitude increase and observed to be about 80 years at 64°N, about 200 years near the Arctic Circle and about 300 years nearby the northern range limit of larch stands (~71° + N). Northward FRIs increase correlated with incoming solar radiation (r = −0.95). Post-Little Ice Age (LIA) warming (after 1850) caused approximately a doubling of fire events (in comparison with a similar period during LIA). The data obtained support a hypothesis of climate-induced fire frequency increase.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Russian Scientific Foundation, Project #14-24-00112. Field measurements in 2012 were supported in part NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 660036

    Viacheslav I. Kharuk, Mariya L. Dvinskaya, Ilya A. Petrov & Sergei T. Im

  2. Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 660041

    Viacheslav I. Kharuk & Sergei T. Im

  3. Siberian State Aerospace University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 660014

    Sergei T. Im

  4. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA

    Kenneth J. Ranson

Authors
  1. Viacheslav I. Kharuk
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  2. Mariya L. Dvinskaya
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  3. Ilya A. Petrov
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  4. Sergei T. Im
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  5. Kenneth J. Ranson
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Correspondence to Viacheslav I. Kharuk.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Editor: Xiangzheng Deng.

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Kharuk, V.I., Dvinskaya, M.L., Petrov, I.A. et al. Larch forests of Middle Siberia: long-term trends in fire return intervals. Reg Environ Change 16, 2389–2397 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-0964-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-0964-9

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