The optimum fire window: applying the fire–productivity hypothesis to Jurassic climate states

Hollaar, Teuntje P.; Belcher, Claire M.; Ruhl, Micha; Deconinck, Jean-François; Hesselbo, Stephen P.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2795-2024

Articles | Volume 21, issue 11

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2795-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2795-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 21, issue 11

Research article

|

13 Jun 2024

Research article |

| 13 Jun 2024

The optimum fire window: applying the fire–productivity hypothesis to Jurassic climate states

Teuntje P. Hollaar, Claire M. Belcher, Micha Ruhl, Jean-François Deconinck, and Stephen P. Hesselbo

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2795-2024-supplement

Data sets

Palynofacies, microcharcoal, clay mineralogical and carbon isotope mass spectrometry measurements from the Late Pliensbachian (934–918 mbs) of the Mochras core, Cardigan Bay Basin, NW Wales, UK Teuntje P. Hollaar https://doi.org/10.5285/1461dbe5-50a8-425c-8c49-ac1f04bcc271

Terrestrial palaeo-environmental proxy data of the Upper Pliensbachian, Mochras Borehole sediments, deposited in the Cardigan Bay Basin, Wales Teuntje P. Hollaar https://doi.org/10.5285/d6b7c567-49f0-44c7-a94c-e82fa17ff98e

Data from the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary charcoal, clay, C-isotopes and palynofacies, Mochras core, NW Wales, UK Teuntje P. Hollaar https://doi.org/10.5285/2ec864e0-cb08-44c0-92fe-07af2ef93e3a

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Short summary

Fires are limited in year-round wet climates (tropical rainforests; too wet), and in year-round dry climates (deserts; no fuel). This concept, the intermediate-productivity gradient, explains the global pattern of fire activity. Here we test this concept for climate states of the Jurassic (~190 Myr ago). We find that the intermediate-productivity gradient also applies in the Jurassic despite the very different ecosystem assemblages, with fires most frequent at times of high seasonality.