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 Pitkänen, A. Articles by Huttunen, P. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Comparison of sedimentary microscopic charcoal particle records in a small lake with dendrochronological data: evidence for the local origin of microscopic charcoal produced by forest fires of low intensity in eastern Finland

Karelian Institute, Department of Ecology, University of Joensuu, PO Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland

Hannu Lehtonen

Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, PO Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland

Pertti Huttunen

Department of Biology, University of Joensuu, PO Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland

Dendrochronological data and microscopic charcoal particle series from annually laminated lake sediment covering the past 520 years were compared. Slash-and-burn cultivation had been practised in the area (63°109N, 30°589E) for about 300 years during this period, causing a considerable increase in the number of forest fires. The fire years based on fire-scar data coincided with peaks in the microscopic charcoal series, suggesting that a significant proportion of charcoal particles usually counted on pollen slides can originate from local fires or fires within a few kilometres of the sampling point. Thus, contrary to the theories of charcoal particle transport, the abundance of microscopic charcoal may indicate, in some cases, fires at close quarters better than at a regional or broader spatial scale. Regional sources contribute to the microscopic charcoal records, but an increase in the proportion of largest particles and a decrease in particle size c., 10 mmin diameter suggest local burning. The result may be due to fires of a low-intensity in the area. The particles collected during an experimental low-intensity burn supported the results obtained from the sediment samples. The majority of the particles collected were of the same sizes that are most abundant on pollen slides.

Key Words: Varved lake sediments • charcoal particle analysis • dendrochronology • fire history • slash-and-burn cultivation • late Holocene • Finland

The Holocene, Vol. 9, No. 5, 559-567 (1999)
DOI: 10.1191/095968399670319510


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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Ekblom Forest-savanna dynamics in the coastal lowland of southern Mozambique since c. AD 1400 The Holocene, December 1, 2008; 18(8): 1247 - 1257. [Abstract] [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]

				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]

				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]

				F. Thevenon, D. Williamson, A. Vincens, M. Taieb, O. Merdaci, M. Decobert, and G. Buchet A late-Holocene charcoal record from Lake Masoko, SW Tanzania: climatic and anthropologic implications The Holocene, July 1, 2003; 13(5): 785 - 792. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Pitkanen, A. Pitkanen, K. Tolonen, and H. Jungner A basin-based approach to the long-term history of forest fires as determined from peat strata The Holocene, July 1, 2001; 11(5): 599 - 605. [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]