Articles | Volume 22, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6651-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6651-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Nov 2025
Research article |
| 10 Nov 2025
| 10 Nov 2025
Fire activity in the northern Arctic tundra now exceeds late Holocene levels, driven by increasing dryness and shrub expansion
Angelica Feurdean
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
STAR-UBB Institute, Babeş-Bolyai University, Kogălniceanu 1, 400084, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Randy Fulweber
Toolik Field Station, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2120 N. Koyukuk Drive, AK 99775-7005, Fairbanks, United States of America
Andrei-Cosmin Diaconu
Department of Geology, Babes-Bolyai University, Kogălniceanu 1, 400084, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Graeme T. Swindles
Geography, School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, BT7 1NN, Belfast, UK
Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Centre and Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Mariusz Gałka
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Biogeography, Paleoecology and Nature Conservation, University of Lodz, Banacha 1/3, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
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Short summary
We found low fire activity in northern Arctic Alaska from ~1000 BCE to 500 CE, and a marked increase post-1950 CE, when it exceeded any levels observed in the preceding millennia. Deepening of water tables and peatland drying associated with permafrost thaw have facilitated woody encroachment, leading to enhanced fire activity. This study highlights that moisture–vegetation–fire feedbacks significantly influence tundra fire regimes, with implications for ongoing Arctic greening and warming.
We found low fire activity in northern Arctic Alaska from ~1000 BCE to 500 CE, and a marked...
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