|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
Interpretation of the charcoal record in forest soils: forest fires and their production and deposition of macroscopic charcoal
Mikael Ohlson
Elling Tryterud
Department of Biology and Nature Conservation, Agricultural University of Norway, PO Box 5014, N-1432 Ås, Norway
Traps were used to quantify charcoal production and transport during three experimental forest fires in Boreal Scandinavia. The traps were spatially arranged to collect charcoal particles inside burn areas, and outside burn areas at different distances (0.1–100 m) from the fire edge. The number of inside and outside traps was 280 and 424, respectively. Trap area was 48 cm2. After the burn, trap content was sorted and sieved in two size-classes of charcoal particles, namely small (0.5–2.0 mm) and large (. 2.0 mm), and number and mass of particles were determined. The production and distribution of charcoal were highly variable at fine spatial scales inside burn areas. On average, inside traps contained 12.1 small and 10.1 large particles, and the average charcoal mass was 0.112 g per trap (corresponding to 235 kg ha-1). The largest size-class made up 94% of the mass. Outside traps contained 0.3 small and 0.1 large particles per trap, and 45% of the outside particles were distributed, 1 m from the fire edge. It is concluded that the occurrence of macroscopic charcoal ($ 0.5 mm) in forest soils provides a solid evidence for local fire influence, and that the presence of large charcoal particles can be used to distinguish between fire-prone and fire-free areas with high spatial precision. Absence of large particles must, however, be more carefully interpreted as 14% of the inside traps lacked macroscopic charcoal. We argue that the charcoal in Boreal forest soils should be less persistent than previously suggested because documented fire-return intervals result in an unrealistic charcoal accumulation presupposing high persistence.
Key Words: Black carbon • charcoal analysis • experimental burn • forest fire • spatial distribution • stratigraphic • interpretation • Boreal forest • Scandinavia
The Holocene, Vol. 10, No. 4,
519-525 (2000)
DOI: 10.1191/095968300667442551
 CiteULike  Complore  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
S. Buckman, K. C. Brownlie, R. P. Bourman, C. V. Murray-Wallace, R. H. Morris, T. J. Lachlan, R. G. Roberts, L. J. Arnold, and J. H. Cann
Holocene palaeofire records in a high-level, proximal valley-fill (Wilson Bog), Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia
The Holocene,
November 1, 2009;
19(7):
1017 - 1029.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Rius, B. Vanniere, and D. Galop
Fire frequency and landscape management in the northwestern Pyrenean piedmont, France, since the early Neolithic (8000 cal. BP)
The Holocene,
September 1, 2009;
19(6):
847 - 859.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Gustavsson, G. Lemdahl, and M.-J. Gaillard
Abrupt forest ecosystem change in SW Sweden during the late Holocene
The Holocene,
August 1, 2009;
19(5):
691 - 702.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
U. Segerstrom, H. von Stedingk, and G. Hornberg
Long-term sustainability of a northern boreal deciduous swamp forest in northern Sweden: succession in the absence of fire
The Holocene,
November 1, 2008;
18(7):
1113 - 1122.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Colombaroli, B. Vanniere, C. Emmanuel, M. Magny, and W. Tinner
Fire--vegetation interactions during the Mesolithic--Neolithic transition at Lago dell'Accesa, Tuscany, Italy
The Holocene,
August 1, 2008;
18(5):
679 - 692.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. A. Ali, H. Asselin, A. C. Larouche, Y. Bergeron, C. Carcaillet, and P. J.H. Richard
Changes in fire regime explain the Holocene rise and fall of Abies balsamea in the coniferous forests of western Quebec, Canada
The Holocene,
August 1, 2008;
18(5):
693 - 703.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Payette, L. Filion, and A. Delwaide
Spatially explicit fire-climate history of the boreal forest-tundra (Eastern Canada) over the last 2000 years
Phil Trans R Soc B,
July 12, 2008;
363(1501):
2299 - 2314.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K.I. Duffin, L. Gillson, and K.J. Willis
Testing the sensitivity of charcoal as an indicator of fire events in savanna environments: quantitative predictions of fire proximity, area and intensity
The Holocene,
February 1, 2008;
18(2):
279 - 291.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. I. WHITESIDE and J. E. A. MARSHALL
The age, fauna and palaeoenvironment of the Late Triassic fissure deposits of Tytherington, South Gloucestershire, UK
Geological Magazine,
January 1, 2008;
145(1):
105 - 147.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. Itzstein-Davey, P. Atahan, J. Dodson, D. Taylor, and H. Zheng
Environmental and cultural changes during the terminal Neolithic: Qingpu, Yangtze delta, eastern China
The Holocene,
November 1, 2007;
17(7):
875 - 887.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Carcaillet, A.-S. Perroux, A. Genries, and Y. Perrette
Sedimentary charcoal pattern in a karstic underground lake, Vercors massif, French Alps: implications for palaeo-fire history
The Holocene,
September 1, 2007;
17(6):
845 - 850.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Eckmeier, M. Rosch, O. Ehrmann, M. W.I. Schmidt, W. Schier, and R. Gerlach
Conversion of biomass to charcoal and the carbon mass balance from a slash-and-burn experiment in a temperate deciduous forest
The Holocene,
May 1, 2007;
17(4):
539 - 542.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M.E. Collinson, D.C. Steart, A.C. Scott, I.J. Glasspool, and J.J. Hooker
Episodic fire, runoff and deposition at the Palaeocene-Eocene boundary
Journal of the Geological Society,
January 1, 2007;
164(1):
87 - 97.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Marlon, P. J. Bartlein, and C. Whitlock
Fire-fuel-climate linkages in the northwestern USA during the Holocene
The Holocene,
December 1, 2006;
16(8):
1059 - 1071.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Ohlson, A. Korbol, and R. H. Okland
The macroscopic charcoal record in forested boreal peatlands in southeast Norway
The Holocene,
July 1, 2006;
16(5):
731 - 741.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. A. Froyd
Holocene fire in the Scottish Highlands: evidence from macroscopic charcoal records
The Holocene,
February 1, 2006;
16(2):
235 - 249.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. Tinner, S. Hofstetter, F. Zeugin, M. Conedera, T. Wohlgemuth, L. Zimmermann, and R. Zweifel
Long-distance transport of macroscopic charcoal by an intensive crown fire in the Swiss Alps - implications for fire history reconstruction
The Holocene,
February 1, 2006;
16(2):
287 - 292.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Simard, I. Simard, H. Morin, and C. Lavoie
A millennial-scale reconstruction of spruce budworm abundance in Saguenay, Queebec, Canada
The Holocene,
January 1, 2006;
16(1):
31 - 37.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. E. Higuera, D. G. Sprugel, and L. B. Brubaker
Reconstructing fire regimes with charcoal from small-hollow sediments: a calibration with tree-ring records of fire
The Holocene,
February 1, 2005;
15(2):
238 - 251.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. A. Ali, A. A. Ali, P. Roiron, J.-L. Guendon, P. Poirier, and J.-F. Terral
Holocene vegetation responses to fire events in the inner French Alps (Queyras Massif): data from charcoal and geomorphological analysis of travertine sequences
The Holocene,
January 1, 2005;
15(1):
149 - 155.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. J. Hallett, R. W. Mathewes, and R. C. Walker
A 1000-year record of forest fire, drought and lake-level change in southeastern British Columbia, Canada
The Holocene,
July 1, 2003;
13(5):
751 - 761.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Scheel-Ybert, R. Scheel-Ybert, S. E. M. Gouveia, L. C. R. Pessenda, R. Aravena, L. M. Coutinho, and R. Boulet
Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution in the Sao Paulo State (Brazil), based on anthracology and soil {delta}13C analysis
The Holocene,
January 1, 2003;
13(1):
73 - 81.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. J. Gardner, J. J. Gardner, and C. Whitlock
Charcoal accumulation following a recent fire in the Cascade Range, northwestern USA, and its relevance for fire-history studies
The Holocene,
July 1, 2001;
11(5):
541 - 549.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Carcaillet, C. Carcaillet, M. Bouvier, B. Frechette, A. C. Larouche, and P. J.H. Richard
Comparison of pollen-slide and sieving methods in lacustrine charcoal analyses for local and regional fire history
The Holocene,
May 1, 2001;
11(4):
467 - 476.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
