Fire, global warming, and the carbon balance of boreal forests
- Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)
- Forestry Canada, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (Canada)
Fire strongly influences carbon cycling and storage in boreal forests. In the near-term, if global warming occurs, the frequency and intensity of fires in boreal forests are likely to increase significantly. A sensitivity analysis on the relationship between fire and carbon storage in the living-biomass and ground-layer compartments of boreal forests was performed to determine how the carbon stocks would be expected to change as a result of global warming. A model was developed to study this sensitivity. The model shows if the annual area burned in boreal forests increases by 50%, as predicted by some studies, then the amount of carbon stored in the ground layer would decrease between 3.5 and 5.6 kg/m{sup 2}, and the amount of carbon stored in the living biomass would increase by 1.2 kg/m{sup 2}. There would be a net loss of carbon in boreal forests between 2.3 and 4.4 kg/m{sup 2}, or 27.1-51.9 Pg on a global scale. Because the carbon in the ground layer is lot more quickly than carbon is accumulated in living biomass, this could lead to a short-term release of carbon over the next 50-100 yr at a rate of 0.33-0.8 Pg/yr, dependent on the distribution of carbon between organic and mineral soil in the ground layer (which is presently not well-understood) and the increase in fire frequency caused by global warming. 57 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 50819
- Journal Information:
- Ecological Applications, Journal Name: Ecological Applications Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 5; ISSN 1051-0761; ISSN ECAPE7
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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