Assessing the spatial fidelity of sedimentary charcoal size fractions as fire history proxies with a high-resolution sediment record and historical data

Vachula, Richard S.; Russell, James M.; Huang, Yongsong; Richter, Nora

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.07.032

Cited by 53 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The core was split and imaged at LacCore with a Geotek Multi-Sensor Core Logger. Following Vachula et al (2018), minima of red and green color intensities from the Geotek high resolution images (1 pixel≈50 μm) were counted manually to delineate annual laminations (Trauth 2007, Roach 2010. Additionally, dated macrovisual stratigraphic markers (a charcoal lamination, a slump sequence, and two tephras) confirmed the varve-based age-depth chronology (table S1 is available online at stacks.iop.org/ERL/14/104011/ mmedia).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this letter, we consider the CHARs of two size fractions (63-150 and >250 μm, herein referred to as CHAR 63-150 , and CHAR 250, respectively) to match and benefit from the source area determinations made by Vachula et al (2018). Vachula et al (2018) previously compared CHARs of different size fractions in Swamp Lake with historical fire data and identified the source area of CHAR 250 and CHAR 63-150 to be 25 and 150 km, respectively (Vachula et al 2018), thus providing a record of local (>250 μm, within 25 km of Swamp Lake) and regional (63-150 μm, within 150 km) area burned.…”

Section: Charcoal Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Paleoecological records offer opportunities to investigate long-term fire-climate relationships, but discerning the role of humans in these fire histories is difficult as human burning cannot be easily differentiated from natural fire in paleoecological records (Whitlock et al 2010). We present a new analytical approach based on coeval measurements of two different sizes of charcoal to reconstruct and disentangle local and regional fire histories (Vachula et al 2018). Our approach represents a refinement of charcoal-based paleofire techniques and principles (Whitlock and Larsen 2002, Whitlock et al 2010, 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Climate exceeded human management as the dominant control of fire at the regional scale in California’s Sierra Nevada

Vachula

Russell

Huang

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Charcoal Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Climate exceeded human management as the dominant control of fire at the regional scale in California’s Sierra Nevada

Vachula

Russell

Huang

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One commonly used fire proxy is charcoal, which is a carbonaceous material produced by heating of biomass during incomplete combustion (Whitlock & Larsen, ) and is usually divided into two size classes: macroscopic charcoal (particles ≥ 100 μm) and microscopic charcoal (particles ≤ 100 μm). The smaller particles are assumed to be transported over longer distances compared to the larger particles, and therefore, macroscopic charcoal is usually used to reconstruct local‐scale fires, while microscopic charcoal provides information on more regional‐scale fires (Marlon et al, ; Vachula et al, ). However, application of the charcoal proxy can sometimes be challenging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary Biomass Burning in Northwest Africa and Interactions With Climate, Vegetation, and Humans

Schreuder

Hopmans

Castañeda

et al. 2019

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biomass burning on the African continent is widespread, and interactions with climate, vegetation dynamics, and biogeochemical cycling are complex. To obtain a better understanding of these complex relationships, African fire history has been widely studied, although mostly on relatively short timescales (i.e., years to kiloyears) and less commonly on long‐term scales. Here we present a 192‐kyr, continuous biomass‐burning record from sub‐Saharan Northwest Africa based on the fire biomarker levoglucosan in a marine sediment core offshore Guinea. Notable features of our record include an increase in levoglucosan accumulation at 80 ka and two peaks at 50–60 ka. The event at 80 ka is likely related to an overall increase in sedimentation rates rather than an increase in biomass burning in the Northwest African savanna region. Our record indicates that glacial/interglacial changes in regional climate and vegetation composition (C3 vs. C4 plants) were not a major influence on biomass burning over the last 192 kyr. However, we suggest that the burning events at 50–60 ka might be caused by increased occurrence of C3 vegetation and human settlement in this region. At this time, the savanna region became wetter and fuel loads likely increased. Therefore, the region was more hospitable for humans, who likely used fire for hunting activities. Collectively, we hypothesize that on longer (glacial/interglacial) timescales, biomass burning, regional climate, and African vegetation are not necessarily coupled, while around 50–60 ka, higher fuel loads and human fire use may have influenced fire occurrence in sub‐Saharan Northwest Africa.

show abstract

“…This approach has the potential to isolate records of local fire histories in lacustrine settings because it includes macroscopic charcoal, as opposed to more traditional measurements of microcharcoal counts from pollen slides. Microcharcoal is more easily transported by wind and water, and therefore it is considered more reflective of regional fire histories than local fire histories, which are captured in macrocharcoal (Carcaillet, Bouvier, Fréchette, Larouche, & Richard, 2001;Vachula, Russell, Huang, & Richter, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiproxy evidence for rapid and enduring anthropogenic vegetation change during the Late Holocene from an abandoned channel of the Mississippi River, Wapanocca Bayou, Arkansas, USA

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geoarchaeological cores from an infilling channel within the meander belt of the Central Mississippi Valley recovered multiproxy evidence of vegetation changes during the Late Holocene. The sampling site, Wapanocca Bayou (Crittenden County, Arkansas), is flanked by levees that supported settlements of prehistoric Late Woodland and Mississippian farm sites, villages, and towns (AD 300–1650). These settlements include the Bradley site (3CT7), which was potentially the capital of a powerful Native American chiefdom visited by Hernando De Soto's North American expedition in 1541. Age‐depth modeling of radiocarbon dates from a 10+ meter core indicates continuous infilling of the channel since at least 2,450 cal BP. Palynological records preserve diachronic and patterned shifts in vegetation reflecting significant disturbances in these dynamic meander‐belt settings. Coeval trends in soil phosphorus, organic matter, charcoal concentrations, and magnetic susceptibility combined with archaeological evidence for increasingly intense landuse practices support our argument that vegetation changes along Wapanocca Bayou were caused by prehistoric anthropogenic disturbances, rather than natural processes associated with oxbow infilling and terrestrialization. With time the role of the natural vegetation succession receded in relative importance as local ecosystems were progressively modified by prehistoric Native Americans. This change was then sustained by intensified historical agricultural practices.

show abstract

Assessing the spatial fidelity of sedimentary charcoal size fractions as fire history proxies with a high-resolution sediment record and historical data

Cited by 53 publications

References 50 publications

Climate exceeded human management as the dominant control of fire at the regional scale in California’s Sierra Nevada

Climate exceeded human management as the dominant control of fire at the regional scale in California’s Sierra Nevada

Late Quaternary Biomass Burning in Northwest Africa and Interactions With Climate, Vegetation, and Humans

Multiproxy evidence for rapid and enduring anthropogenic vegetation change during the Late Holocene from an abandoned channel of the Mississippi River, Wapanocca Bayou, Arkansas, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About