Escalating carbon emissions from North American boreal forest wildfires and the climate mitigation potential of fire management

Phillips, Carly; Rogers, Brendan M.; Elder, Molly; Cooperdock, S.; Moubarak, Michael; Randerson, James T.; Frumhoff, Peter C.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abl7161

Cited by 52 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 81 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This implies that if atmospheric deposition is the major source of Mn in surficial soil layers, it has the potential to facilitate oxidative C decomposition by reducing Mn limitation, and in regions that are sensitive to anthropogenic activities, humans might indirectly alter the C cycle by releasing Mn‐containing aerosols into the atmosphere through industrial and agricultural activities. While a significant proportion of global C is stored in the soils and vegetation of temperate forests (IPCC, 2000), increased C emissions from decomposition promoted by Mn addition could be important to global C dynamics and climate feedbacks, exacerbating the ongoing escalating C emissions subjected to wildfires (Phillips et al., 2022; B. Zhao et al., 2021). Furthermore, our correlation analysis indicates a negative Mn‐C relationship in (sub)tropical forests in addition to temperate forests, where empirical relationships between Mn and soil C have been found.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Atmospheric Mn Cycle and Its Impact on Terrestrial Biogeochemistry

Lu,

Li,

Rathod

et al. 2024

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The role of manganese (Mn) in ecosystem carbon (C) biogeochemical cycling is gaining increasing attention. While soil Mn is mainly derived from bedrock, atmospheric deposition could be a major source of Mn to surface soils, with implications for soil C cycling. However, quantification of the atmospheric Mn cycle, which comprises emissions from natural (desert dust, sea salts, volcanoes, primary biogenic particles, and wildfires) and anthropogenic sources (e.g., industrialization and land‐use change due to agriculture), transport, and deposition, remains uncertain. Here, we use compiled emission data sets for each identified source to model and quantify the atmospheric Mn cycle by combining an atmospheric model and in situ atmospheric concentration measurements. We estimated global emissions of atmospheric Mn in aerosols (<10 μm in aerodynamic diameter) to be 1,400 Gg Mn year−1. Approximately 31% of the emissions come from anthropogenic sources. Deposition of the anthropogenic Mn shortened Mn “pseudo” turnover times in 1‐m‐thick surface soils (ranging from 1,000 to over 10,000,000 years) by 1–2 orders of magnitude in industrialized regions. Such anthropogenic Mn inputs boosted the Mn‐to‐N ratio of the atmospheric deposition in non‐desert dominated regions (between 5 × 10−5 and 0.02) across industrialized areas, but that was still lower than soil Mn‐to‐N ratio by 1–3 orders of magnitude. Correlation analysis revealed a negative relationship between Mn deposition and topsoil C density across temperate and (sub)tropical forests, consisting with atmospheric Mn deposition enhancing carbon respiration as seen in in situ biogeochemical studies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Atmospheric Mn Cycle and Its Impact on Terrestrial Biogeochemistry

Lu,

Li,

Rathod

et al. 2024

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The 2023 warmth was exceptional based on the last 44 years, but CMIP6 climate models project that the temperatures of 2023 will become the norm by the 2050s. Such changes are likely to increase fire activity [22,[26][27][28], risking the carbon uptake potential of Canadian forests. This will impact allowable emissions for reaching warming targets, as reduced carbon sequestration by ecosystems must be compensated for by adjusting anthropogenic emissions reductions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unprecedented Canadian forest fire carbon emissions during 2023

Byrne,

Liu,

Bowman

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The 2023 Canadian forest fires have been unprecedented in scale and intensity. Here, we quantify the carbon emissions from these fires to be 639 TgC (range: 572–705 TgC) over a five-month period (May-Sep) based upon inverse modeling of satellite carbon monoxide observations. This magnitude is comparable to the annual fossil fuel emissions of large nations, with only India, China and the U.S.A. releasing more carbon. Widespread fire weather was a major driver of fire spread, as 2023 was the warmest and driest year since at least 1980. Although extreme relative to the historical record, climate projections indicate that these temperatures will be typical during the 2050s, even under a moderate climate mitigation scenario (SSP2-4.5). Such conditions are very likely to drive increased fire activity and suppress carbon uptake by Canadian forests, calling into question the long-term durability of these forests as a carbon sink.

show abstract

“…Fire activity in permafrost systems is also an added threat because it can accelerate soil thaw, and the release of older carbon (Schädel et al, 2016; Turetsky et al, 2019). Given the considerable boreal carbon sink observed in this study, and the threat of increased disturbance reducing the forest sink, we recommend the urgent protection of highly productive boreal regions through targeted fire management and limits to human disturbances (Phillips et al, 2022; Shvetsov et al, 2021).…”

Section: Conclusion and Implications For Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon uptake in Eurasian boreal forests dominates the high‐latitude net ecosystem carbon budget

Watts

Farina

Kimball

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Arctic‐boreal landscapes are experiencing profound warming, along with changes in ecosystem moisture status and disturbance from fire. This region is of global importance in terms of carbon feedbacks to climate, yet the sign (sink or source) and magnitude of the Arctic‐boreal carbon budget within recent years remains highly uncertain. Here, we provide new estimates of recent (2003–2015) vegetation gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Reco), net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE; Reco − GPP), and terrestrial methane (CH4) emissions for the Arctic‐boreal zone using a satellite data‐driven process‐model for northern ecosystems (TCFM‐Arctic), calibrated and evaluated using measurements from >60 tower eddy covariance (EC) sites. We used TCFM‐Arctic to obtain daily 1‐km2 flux estimates and annual carbon budgets for the pan‐Arctic‐boreal region. Across the domain, the model indicated an overall average NEE sink of −850 Tg CO2‐C year−1. Eurasian boreal zones, especially those in Siberia, contributed to a majority of the net sink. In contrast, the tundra biome was relatively carbon neutral (ranging from small sink to source). Regional CH4 emissions from tundra and boreal wetlands (not accounting for aquatic CH4) were estimated at 35 Tg CH4‐C year−1. Accounting for additional emissions from open water aquatic bodies and from fire, using available estimates from the literature, reduced the total regional NEE sink by 21% and shifted many far northern tundra landscapes, and some boreal forests, to a net carbon source. This assessment, based on in situ observations and models, improves our understanding of the high‐latitude carbon status and also indicates a continued need for integrated site‐to‐regional assessments to monitor the vulnerability of these ecosystems to climate change.

show abstract

Escalating carbon emissions from North American boreal forest wildfires and the climate mitigation potential of fire management

Cited by 52 publications

References 81 publications

Characterizing the Atmospheric Mn Cycle and Its Impact on Terrestrial Biogeochemistry

Characterizing the Atmospheric Mn Cycle and Its Impact on Terrestrial Biogeochemistry

Unprecedented Canadian forest fire carbon emissions during 2023

Carbon uptake in Eurasian boreal forests dominates the high‐latitude net ecosystem carbon budget

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About