Trends in sedimentary charcoal shapes correspond with broad-scale land-use changes: insights gained from a 300-year lake sediment record from eastern Virginia, USA

Frank-DePue, Lee; Vachula, Richard S.; Balascio, Nicholas L.; Cahoon, Kayla; Kaste, James M.

doi:10.1007/s10933-022-00260-x

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Charcoal has the potential to predict various characteristics of fire like intensity (Duffin et al, 2008), severity (Whitlock and Larsen, 2002), extent, and frequency (Leys et al, 2013). Charcoal morphologies have also been used to trace the type of vegetation burnt (Enache and Cumming, 2006;Frank-DePue et al, 2022;Jensen et al, 2007;Mustaphi and Pisaric, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lack of standardization in extraction procedures, identification, and quantification of macrocharcoal (Conedera et al, 2009) is of great concern. The uncertainties in relationships between particle size, burnt area, and dispersal distance (Clark, 1988;Higuera et al, 2007;Marlon et al, 2009;Vachula, 2021; as well as the use of charcoal morphology to trace fuel sources are yet to be resolved (Enache and Cumming, 2006;Frank-DePue et al, 2022;Mustaphi and Pisaric, 2014). There are also variability associated with the production rate of charcoal depending on the vegetation burned (Feurdean, 2021;Pereboom et al, 2020;Vachula et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Surface sampling of wetlands in a tropical dry forest after a large fire: Wind direction dominates the transport and deposition of fire proxies

Kumar

Bala

Behera³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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A major fire raged through the dry tropical forests of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, a ‘biodiversity hotspot’ in southern India, in February 2019. The fire occurred in patches, burning >10,000 acres of forest, becoming one of the largest forest fires in India in recent times. Very few studies have been able to capture the dynamics of fire proxies from an active surface fire, especially in the dry tropics. We opportunistically sampled two wetlands roughly sandwiched between the largest and the second-largest burnt patches a week after the fire was extinguished. We collected surface samples from each wetland and looked at popular fire proxies – macrocharcoal, microcharcoal, microcharcoal/pollen (C/P) ratio and the abundance and distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Macrocharcoal counts were low (mean ~5), while the C/P ratio was ~1. Low Molecular Weight (LMW) PAH molecules Phenanthrene, Anthracene, Fluoranthene and Pyrene were found in both sites, while High Molecular Weight (HMW) PAHs were only found in one. None of the proxies is particularly indicative of the large surface fire that occurred ~15 km away. Analysis of wind speed and direction from weather station data and forward and backward HYSPLIT model trajectories tell us that both wetlands were not downstream of the smoke plume. There was also no recorded precipitation between the fire event and the sampling date. Through this opportunistic study of fire proxies, we show that wind direction and wet scavenging are essential factors determining the transport and deposition of fire proxies in this environment. Hence reconstruction of fire histories should be done using multi-site data since the absence of fire proxies does not equate to the absence of fire.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface sampling of wetlands in a tropical dry forest after a large fire: Wind direction dominates the transport and deposition of fire proxies

Kumar

Bala

Behera³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Although the morphological characterizations are informative, they have been criticized for their subjectivity and regional specificity (Cheung et al, 2021). Strides have been made to automate morphological characterization (Rehn et al, 2019), but questions regarding the universality of classification systems remain (Frank-DePue et al, 2022). In contrast, classification based on aspect ratio, which differentiates charcoal sourced from woody and grass/non-woody fuels, has demonstrated relative universality (Vachula et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeled dispersal patterns for wood and grass charcoal are different: Implications for paleofire reconstruction

Vachula

Rehn

2022

The Holocene

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Sedimentary charcoal records provide useful perspectives on the long-term controls and behavior of fire in the Earth System. However, a comprehensive understanding of the nuances, biases, and limitations of charcoal as a fire proxy is necessary for reliable paleofire interpretations. Here, we use a charcoal dispersal model to answer the following questions: (1) How does the dispersal of wood and grass charcoal particles differ? (2) Do traditional conceptual models of charcoal dispersal reliably characterize grass charcoal dispersal? We find that small differences in shape (length:width (L:W)) and density of grass and wood charcoal can cause substantial differences in particle dispersal and source area. Whereas the modeled dispersal of wood charcoal shows a localized deposition signal which decays with distance, grass charcoal shows more diffuse deposition lacking a localized center (for both >125 µm and >60 µm). Although paleofire research has typically not distinguished between fuel types when interpreting source area, we show that the dispersal of charcoal derived from different fuels is unlikely to be uniform. Because differences in localization, production, and preservation could bias aggregate charcoal accumulation, caution should be taken when interpreting wood and grass-derived charcoal particles preserved in the same record. Additionally, we propose an alternative, dual background conceptual model of grass charcoal dispersal, as the traditional, two-component (peak and background) conceptual model does not accurately characterize the modeled dispersal of grass charcoal. Lastly, this mismatch of conceptualizations of dispersal mechanics implies that grass charcoal may not fit the criteria necessary for peak analysis techniques.

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Tree demographics and soil charcoal evidence of fire disturbances in an inaccessible forest atop the Mount Lico inselberg, Mozambique

Courtney Mustaphi,

Platts,

Willcock

et al. 2024

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact StatementHighland forests of Mozambique have been strongly modified by human activities for millennia. Some highlands have sheer rock cliffs and are highly inaccessible to people and appear relatively undisturbed. Evidence from the forest and soils of inaccessible Mount Lico show that the fire regime has changed over the recent millennia. As climate and fire regimes continue to change, management of highland ecosystems will be crucial to sustain the high biodiversity and mountain‐water resources that provide key ecosystem services to people living close to these forests.Summary The sheer rock cliffs of the Mount Lico inselberg, northern Mozambique, is relatively inaccessible to people. A 0.57 km2 forest covers the top of the isolated mountain, and the tree demographics and soil offer an opportunity to investigate the long‐term fire ecology of the forests of the western, leeside of the mountain and potential for changing regional hydroclimate of the Late Holocene. On the western side of the mountaintop, a 20 × 20 m plot was surveyed for tree taxa, heights and bole diameters. A 220 cm deep pit was dug into the forest soil and analysed to describe the soil texture and carbon content. Charcoal was quantified on sieved subsamples and classified into charcoal morphologies that were then grouped by how readily entrainable on an index score. Three radiocarbon dates were collected from pieces charcoal. The forest is a combination of montane and woodland tree taxa that differed from the older, more mesic eastern side and reflected differential disturbance patterns. The reddish loam soils dated to the Middle Holocene. Charcoal was present in all soil subsamples and varied little until increasing consistently during the past millennium. The charcoal morphologies suggested a combination of locally derived charcoal and charcoal derived from the surrounding lowlands with the latter increasing in the past centuries. Few Holocene paleoenvironmental records have been developed from tropical soils in Africa and are useful in locations that do not host lakes and wetlands. Both tree demographics and soil charcoal suggest that changing forest disturbance regimes began during the past millennium. An understanding of history informs future conservation and appropriate management of these special places.

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Trends in sedimentary charcoal shapes correspond with broad-scale land-use changes: insights gained from a 300-year lake sediment record from eastern Virginia, USA

Cited by 5 publications

References 45 publications

Surface sampling of wetlands in a tropical dry forest after a large fire: Wind direction dominates the transport and deposition of fire proxies

Surface sampling of wetlands in a tropical dry forest after a large fire: Wind direction dominates the transport and deposition of fire proxies

Modeled dispersal patterns for wood and grass charcoal are different: Implications for paleofire reconstruction

Tree demographics and soil charcoal evidence of fire disturbances in an inaccessible forest atop the Mount Lico inselberg, Mozambique

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