Fire and the Land Surface

Doerr, Stefan H.; Shakesby, Richard A.

doi:10.1002/9781118529539.ch8

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…In general, after a fire, residual material, including charcoal, forms a fragile surface layer that is often redistributed rapidly by wind and subaerial processes and can be removed from hillslopes within weeks after burning (Doerr and Shakesby, 2013). Seppälä (1984) showed that a 2- to 3-cm-thick layer of sand was commonly drifted each year from open blow-outs at Hietatievat dune field, which indicates that the charcoal layers could be rapidly buried by the redeposited sand in accumulation areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene environmental change in subarctic aeolian dune fields: The chronology of sand dune re-activation events in relation to forest fires, palaeosol development and climatic variations in Finnish Lapland

Matthews

Seppälä

2013

The Holocene

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Sand dune stratigraphy, radiocarbon-dated charcoal layers, palaeosol development and luminescence dating are used to reconstruct the Holocene environmental history of the dune fields in Finnish Lapland since deglaciation in the early Holocene (~10,900–10,200 cal. BP). After rapid formation and stabilisation of parabolic dunes and the immigration of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris), forest fires are inferred to have played a key role in triggering episodes of aeolian erosion of the dunes (deflation) leading to 16 sand dune re-activation events. These events were widespread in the dune fields from ~8300 cal. BP and occurred with increasing frequency towards the late Holocene. Each event is interpreted as relating to local fires that occurred up to 100–400 years after the date of each charcoal layer; the radiocarbon age of the charcoal being affected by the age of the wood when burned, and the accumulation and/or recycling of charcoal from earlier fires. Well-developed buried iron podzols, which can develop within 500–1000 years, indicate prolonged phases of dune stability, four of which are dated to between 4500 and 1050 cal. BP. Indirect associations are evident between the sand dune re-activation events and climatic phases that were relatively cold and/or wet. These associations are explained by a conceptual geo-ecological model in which the effects of century- to millennial-scale climatic variability are modulated by the interactions between fire and vegetation. Thus, the subarctic dune field is viewed as a heterogeneous landscape of stable and unstable areas in space and through time. The unstable elements of this spatial mosaic become more extensive at times when the climatic environment promotes fire and deflation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene environmental change in subarctic aeolian dune fields: The chronology of sand dune re-activation events in relation to forest fires, palaeosol development and climatic variations in Finnish Lapland

Matthews

Seppälä

2013

The Holocene

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“…Fire severity may further influence runoff and erosion. Higher severity fires can also enhance water run off due to enhancing water repellency in soils [8], as well as directly altering soil properties [7]. Therefore, the ability to determine the likely intensity of palaeofires and the duration over which heat may have been delivered to the ground is of significant importance to palaeoecological interpretations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of leaf morphology on litter flammability and its utility for interpreting palaeofire

Belcher

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 24 to a discussion meeting issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. Studies of palaeofire rely on quantifying the abundance of fossil charcoals in sediments to estimate changes in fire activity. However, gaining an understanding of the behaviour of palaeofires is also essential if we are to determine the palaeoecological impact of wildfires. Here, I use experimental approaches to explore relationships between litter fire behaviour and leaf traits that are observable in the fossil record. Fire calorimetry was used to assess the flammability of 15 species of conifer litter and indicated that leaf morphology related to litter bulk density and fuel load that determined the duration of burning and the total energy released. These data were applied to a fossil case study that couples estimates of palaeolitter fire behaviour to charcoal-based estimates of fire activity and observations of palaeoecological changes. The case study reveals that significant changes in fire activity and behaviour likely fed back to determine ecosystem composition. This work highlights that we can recognize and measure plant traits in the fossil record that relate to fire behaviour and therefore that further research is warranted towards estimating palaeofire behaviour as it can enhance our ability to interpret the palaeoecological impact of palaeofires throughout Earth's long evolutionary history.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'.

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“…All of these plants growing on the upper part of the rebuilt northern slope of the dump were of small size. In situations where heating is intense and amounts of moisture low, the plants tend to produce fruits as fast as possible (DOER & SHAKESBY, 2013). In intensely-heated places, the moss Syntrichia sp.…”

Section: Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant occurrence on burning coal waste – a case study from the Katowice-Wełnowiec dump, Poland

Ciesielczuk

Czylok

Fabiańska

et al. 2015

Environmental &Amp; Socio-Economic Studies

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Coal-waste dumps superimposed on former rubbish dump frequently undergo selfheating and selfignition of organic matter dispersed in the waste. The special conditions for plant growth generated as a result have been investigated since 2008 on the municipal dump reclaimed with coal wastes in Katowice-Wełnowiec, Poland. The plants observed most frequently where heating has occurred are Sisymbrium loeselii, Artemisia vulgaris, Sonchus arvensis, Chenopodium album, Achillea millefolium, Cirsium arvense, Amaranthus retroflexus, Atriplex nitens and Solanum nigrum. Some new, rare species such as Portulaca oleracea, first noticed in 2011, may be added. Most of encroaching species are annual, alien archeophytes and neophytes. Native species are mainly perennials. The majority of these species show a tendency to form specimens of huge size (gigantism). The abundance of emitted CO2 and nitrogen compounds is the likely cause of this. Additionally, the plants growing there are not attacked by insects. The heating of the ground liquidates the natural seed bank. After cooling, these places are seeded by species providing seeds at that very moment (pioneer species). Heated places on the dumps allow plant growth even in the middle of winter. As the seasonal vegetation cycle is disturbed, plants may be found seeding, blooming and fruiting at the same time.

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Fire and the Land Surface

Cited by 7 publications

References 96 publications

Holocene environmental change in subarctic aeolian dune fields: The chronology of sand dune re-activation events in relation to forest fires, palaeosol development and climatic variations in Finnish Lapland

Holocene environmental change in subarctic aeolian dune fields: The chronology of sand dune re-activation events in relation to forest fires, palaeosol development and climatic variations in Finnish Lapland

The influence of leaf morphology on litter flammability and its utility for interpreting palaeofire

Plant occurrence on burning coal waste – a case study from the Katowice-Wełnowiec dump, Poland

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