Past human population history affects current forest landscape structure of Vodlozero National Park, Northwest Russia

Tikkanen, Olli‐Pekka; Chernyakova, Irina

doi:10.14214/sf.1207

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…A much stronger signal in the fire record was the increased fire frequency in the last ca 1000 years that is likely linked to increased human activities. While the timing and the intensity of changes in human activities have differed between the study regions, both have been subjected to similar fireconducive human impact in the past (Tikkanen and Chernyakova, 2014;Wallenius, 2011). These have included slash-and-burn agriculture which has been an active use of fire to alter the landscape, but also probably unintentionally from other human activities such as fire spread from hunters' campfires.…”

Section: Fire-events In the Northern European Boreal Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

et al. 2019

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Fire is a major disturbance agent in the boreal forest, influencing many current and future ecosystem conditions and services. Surprisingly few studies have attempted to improve the accuracy of fire-event reconstructions even though the estimates of the occurrence of past fires may be biased, influencing the reliability of the models employing those data (e.g. C stock, cycle). This study aimed to demonstrate how three types of fire proxies – fire scars from tree rings, sedimentary charcoal and, for the first time in this context, fungal spores of Neurospora – can be integrated to achieve a better understanding of past fire dynamics. By studying charcoal and Neurospora from sediment cores from forest hollows, and the fire scars from tree rings in their surroundings in the southern Fennoscandian and western Russian boreal forest, we produced composite fire-event data sets and fire-event frequencies, and estimated fire return intervals. Our estimates show that the fire return interval varied between 126 and 237 years during the last 11,000 years. The highest fire frequency during the 18th–19th century can be associated with the anthropogenic influence. Importantly, statistical tests revealed a positive relationship between other fire event indicators and Neurospora occurrence allowing us to pinpoint past fire events at times when the sedimentary charcoal was absent, but Neurospora were abundant. We demonstrated how fire proxies with different temporal resolution can be linked, providing potential improvements in the reliability of fire history reconstructions from multiple proxies.

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Section: Fire-events In the Northern European Boreal Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

et al. 2019

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“…The number of fires and the spread of fire can be directly related to anthropogenic factors, primarily to traditional land use (Wallenius, 2011). It should be admitted that in Russia, despite the ongoing evolution of forest pyrology, such publications are practically absent (Tikkanen & Chernyakova 2014;Burlakov & Drovnina, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fire history in pine forests of the plain area in the Pechora-Ilych Nature Biosphere Reserve (Russia) before 1942: possible anthropogenic causes and long-term effects

Алейников¹

2019

Nat. Conserv. Res.

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The assessment of the succession status and the forecast of the development of pine forests depend on their origin and need a detailed study of historical and modern fire regimes. This article summarises the information on the dynamics of fires in the forests of the plain area in the Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve (Russia) before 1942. Current forest fires in the pine forests in the Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve are a legacy of previous traditional land use on this territory. Thanks to the material analysis of the first forest inventory, the condition of the forests of the plain area was assessed for the first time 10 years after the foundation of the Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve. It was shown that about 50% of the forests of the modern plain area (most of the lichen, green moss-lichen and green moss-shrub communities) at that time were already touched by ground and crown fires. The population got accustomed to the smoke along the tributaries of the Pechora and the Ilych rivers, so that they reflected it in the names. Perhaps, for several centuries, fires were initiated by the Mansi, who used this territory as winter pastures until the middle of the 19 th century. Eventually, a small human population actively visited the forests having the purpose of logging, hunting, gathering of wild-growing plants and fishing. The interfluve of the Pechora and Ilych rivers was a mosaic of land, divided between the inhabitants of various villages. Careless handling of fire led to numerous uncontrolled fires that no one put out and as a result, vast territories of forests were burnt. After the formation of the Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve, these pine forests continued to burn, but much less. Since the plain area adjoins the navigable River Pechora, the anthropogenic causes of these fires cannot be completely ruled out. At the same time, we do not exclude the possibility of fires from dry thunderstorms. However, when assessing the modern fire regime, it is important to remember that the high fire danger in these forests is a legacy of previous impacts, which requires further study.

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Recovery of functional groups of fungi and wood-decaying species of conservation concern after variable intensity forest utilization

et al. 2017

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Past human population history affects current forest landscape structure of Vodlozero National Park, Northwest Russia

Cited by 5 publications

References 37 publications

Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

The fire history in pine forests of the plain area in the Pechora-Ilych Nature Biosphere Reserve (Russia) before 1942: possible anthropogenic causes and long-term effects

Recovery of functional groups of fungi and wood-decaying species of conservation concern after variable intensity forest utilization

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