Wildfire outbreaks across the United Kingdom during summer 2018

Sibley, Andrew

doi:10.1002/wea.3614

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Across the southern third of GB (the Midlands and Southern England) many grasslands became C sources during the summer of 2018 while remaining areas were weaker sinks than in 2017 6). This pattern was driven by the 2018 European drought and heat wave, which affected GB as a whole and was particularly acute in the southern half of England (Sibley, 2019). The three-week rolling average VPD (DALEC-Grass met driver) in summer 2018 across GB was 50% higher than in summer 2017 (Fig.…”

Section: Predicted C Balance and Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 94%

The carbon budget of the managed grasslands of Great Britain constrained by earth observations

Myrgiotis

Smallman

Williams

2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Grasslands cover around two thirds of the land area of Great Britain (GB) and are important reservoirs of terrestrial biological carbon (C). Outside a few well-monitored sites the quantification of C dynamics in managed grasslands is made complex by the spatio-temporal variability of weather conditions combined with grazing and cutting patterns. Earth observation (EO) missions produce high-resolution frequently-retrieved proxy data on the state of grassland canopies but synergies between EO data and biogeochemical modelling to estimate grassland C dynamics are under-explored. Here, we show the potential of model-data fusion (MDF) to provide robust near-real time analyses of managed grasslands of GB (England, Wales andScotland). We combine EO data and process-based modelling to estimate grassland C balance and to examine the role of management. We implement a MDF algorithm to (1) infer grassland management from vegetation reduction data (Proba-V), (2) optimise model parameters by assimilating leaf area index (LAI) data (Sentinel-2) and (3) simulate livestock grazing, grass cutting, and C allocation and loss to the atmosphere. The MDF algorithm was applied for 2017 and 2018 at 1855 fields sampled from across GB. The algorithm was able to effectively assimilate the Sentinel-2 based LAI time series (overlap = 80 %, RMSE = 1 gCm−2, bias = 0.35 gCm−2) and predict livestock densities per area that correspond with independent census-based data (r = 0.68). The mean total removed biomass across all simulated fields was 6 (±1.8) tDM ha−1 y−1. The simulated grassland ecosystems were on average C sinks in 2017 and 2018; the GB-average net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and net biome exchange (NBE) for 2017 was −232 ± 94 and for 2018 was −120 ± 103 gCm−2 y−1. The 2018 summer drought reduced C sinks, with a 9-fold increase in the number fields that were C sources (NBE > 0) in 2018 compared to 2017. We conclude that management in the form of sward condition and the timing, intensity and type of defoliation are key determinants of the C balance of managed grasslands. Nevertheless, extreme weather, such as prolonged droughts, can convert grassland C sinks to sources.

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Section: Predicted C Balance and Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 94%

The carbon budget of the managed grasslands of Great Britain constrained by earth observations

Myrgiotis

Smallman

Williams

2021

Preprint

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“…Yet, it was the largest annual burned area and most active fire season in Finland since 2006. In addition, other regions in north-western Europe, like the United Kingdom, for instance (Sibley, 2019), were similarly affected by warm and dry weather and experienced numerous wildfires.…”

Section: Ilari Lehtonen Ari Venäläinen Finnish Meteorological Institutementioning

confidence: 99%

The exceptional Nordic forest fire season 2018 in the context of climate change

2021

Ilmastokatsaus

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The exceptional Nordic forest fire season 2018 in the context of climate change A number of large forest fires made headlines in Sweden during the exceptionally warm and dry summer of 2018. Also, in Finland, fire departments were busy with numerous wildfires. It appears that weather conditions in 2018 were very favourable for the occurrence of fires. In the future, similar summers are expected to occur somewhat more often.

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“…Both months were warmer, sunnier and drier than the average and saw several major wildfire events. Notably in 2018, the Saddleworth Moor and Winter Hill fires started in late June and burned for over three weeks, threatening properties and vital infrastructure, and damaged about 18 km 2 of moorland (Sibley, 2019). Other fires also occurred on defence ranges, e.g.…”

Section: Burned Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perry

2021

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Wildfire outbreaks across the United Kingdom during summer 2018

Cited by 10 publications

References 9 publications

The carbon budget of the managed grasslands of Great Britain constrained by earth observations

The carbon budget of the managed grasslands of Great Britain constrained by earth observations

The exceptional Nordic forest fire season 2018 in the context of climate change

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