Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-20-2024
Department
Michigan Tech Research Institute
Abstract
Wildfires significantly change boreal forest ecosystem carbon balance through both direct combustion and post-fire carbon dynamics. Affected vegetation influences soil thermal regime and carbon cycling by impacting the surface energy balance of boreal forests. This study uses a process-based biogeochemistry model to quantify carbon budget of North American boreal forests during 1986-2020 based on satellite-derived burn severity data. During the study period, burn severity generally increases. Fires remove ecosystem carbon of 2.4 Pg C and reduce net ecosystem production (NEP) from 32.6 to 0.8 Tg C yr−1, making the forest ecosystems lose 3.5 Pg C, shifting a carbon sink to a source. The canopy’s cooling effect leads to lower soil temperature and lower net primary production due to lower nitrogen mineralization and uptake. Post-fire NEP decreases from 1.6 to 0.8 Tg C yr−1. This reduction accounts for 50% of the simulated NEP when the effects of fire-affected canopy are not considered. Our study highlights the importance of wildfires and their induced-canopy changes in soil thermal and ecosystem carbon dynamics of boreal forests.
Publication Title
Environmental Research Letters
Recommended Citation
Xu, Y.,
Zhuang, Q.,
Zhao, B.,
Billmire, M.,
Cook, C.,
Graham, J.,
French, N. H.,
&
Prinn, R.
(2024).
Impacts of wildfires on boreal forest ecosystem carbon dynamics from 1986 to 2020.
Environmental Research Letters,
19(6).
http://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad489a
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/743
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad489a