This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Bergeron, Y. Articles by Archambault, S. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Decreasing frequency of forest fires in the southern boreal zone of Québec and its relation to global warming since the end of the 'Little Ice Age'

Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Forestière and Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, Succursale A, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3P8

Sylvain Archambault

Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Forestière and Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, Succursale A, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3P8

Although an increasing frequency of forest fires has been suggested as a consequence of global warming, there are no empirical data that have shown a climatically driven change in fire frequency since the warming that has followed the end of the 'Little Ice Age'. We present here evidence from fire and tree-ring chronologies that the post-'Little Ice Age' climate change has profoundly decreased the frequency of fires in the northwestern Québec boreal forest. A 300-year fire history (AD 1688-1988) from the Lake Duparquet area (48°28' N, 79°17' W) shows an important decrease, starting 100 years ago, in the number and the extent of fires. This decrease in fire frequency is also associated with a long- term increase in the mean ring width of northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) in the same area. Agreement between the standardized tree-ring chronology and fire years, together with a negative correlation with a drought index reconstructed for the AD 1913-1987 period, shows that the decrease in fire frequency may be related to a reduced frequency of drought periods since the end of the 'Little Ice Age'. The contradictory results between predicted and observed effects of warming on fire frequency call into question our present capability to generalize the effect of increasing CO₂ levels on fire frequency.

Key Words: Boreal forest • fire frequency • drought • tree rings • Thuja • global warming • climate change 'Little Ice Age' • Canada.

The Holocene, Vol. 3, No. 3, 255-259 (1993)
DOI: 10.1177/095968369300300307


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				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]

				K.E Ruckstuhl, E.A Johnson, and K Miyanishi Introduction. The boreal forest and global change Phil Trans R Soc B, July 12, 2008; 363(1501): 2243 - 2247. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Macias Fauria and E.A Johnson Climate and wildfires in the North American boreal forest Phil Trans R Soc B, July 12, 2008; 363(1501): 2315 - 2327. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Granstrom and M. Niklasson Potentials and limitations for human control over historic fire regimes in the boreal forest Phil Trans R Soc B, July 12, 2008; 363(1501): 2351 - 2356. [Abstract] [Full Text] [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]

				H. D. Grissino-Mayer, H. D. Grissino Mayer, and T. W. Swetnam Century scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest The Holocene, February 1, 2000; 10(2): 213 - 220. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Pitkanen and A. Pitkanen Fire frequency and forest structure at a dry site between AD 440 and 1110 based on charcoal and pollen records from a laminated lake sediment in eastern Finland The Holocene, February 1, 2000; 10(2): 221 - 228. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Pitkanen, A. Pitkanen, and P. Huttunen A 1300-year forest-fire history at a site in eastern Finland based on charcoal and pollen records in laminated lake sediment The Holocene, April 1, 1999; 9(3): 311 - 320. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Tardif, J. Tardif, and Y. Bergeron Ice-flood history reconstructed with tree- rings from the southern boreal forest limit, western Quebec The Holocene, January 1, 1997; 7(3): 291 - 300. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C.P.S. Larsen Fire and climate dynamics in the boreal forest of northern Alberta, Canada, from AD 1850 to 1989 The Holocene, January 1, 1996; 6(4): 449 - 456. [Abstract] [PDF]