1) We examined the trends of spatial and temporal distribution of the area burned in northern Eurasia from 2002 to 2016.
2) The annual area burned in this region declined by 53 % during the 15-year period.
3) Grassland fires in Kazakhstan dominated the fire activity, comprising 47 % of the area burned but accounting for 84 % of the decline.
4) Wetter climate and the increase of grazing livestock in Kazakhstan are the major factors contributing to the decline of the area burned.
1) We examined the trends of spatial and temporal distribution of the area burned in northern...
Review status: a revised version of this preprint is currently under review for the journal BG.
Wetter environment and increased grazing reduced the area burned in northern Eurasia: 2002–2016
Wei Min Hao1,Matthew C. Reeves2,L. Scott Baggett3,Yves Balkanski4,Philippe Ciais4,Bryce L. Nordgren1,Alexander Petkov1,Rachel E. Corley1,Florent Mouillot5,Shawn P. Urbanski1,and Chao Yue6Wei Min Hao et al.Wei Min Hao1,Matthew C. Reeves2,L. Scott Baggett3,Yves Balkanski4,Philippe Ciais4,Bryce L. Nordgren1,Alexander Petkov1,Rachel E. Corley1,Florent Mouillot5,Shawn P. Urbanski1,and Chao Yue6
1United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, 5775 Highway 10 West, Missoula, MT59808, USA
2United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 800 E. Beckwith, Missoula, MT 59801, USA
3United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 West Prospect, Fort Collins, CO80526, USA
4Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE CEA CNRS UVSQ, 91191, Gif Sur Yvette, France
5UMR CEFE 5175, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 34293 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
6Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, P.R. China
1United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, 5775 Highway 10 West, Missoula, MT59808, USA
2United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 800 E. Beckwith, Missoula, MT 59801, USA
3United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 West Prospect, Fort Collins, CO80526, USA
4Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE CEA CNRS UVSQ, 91191, Gif Sur Yvette, France
5UMR CEFE 5175, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 34293 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
6Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, P.R. China
Received: 19 Apr 2020 – Accepted for review: 04 May 2020 – Discussion started: 07 May 2020
Abstract. Northern Eurasia is highly sensitive to climate change. Fires in this region can have significant impacts on regional air quality, radiative forcing and black carbon deposition in the Arctic to accelerate ice melting. Using a MODIS-derived burned area data set, we report that the total annual area burned in this region declined by 53 % during the 15-year period of 2002–2016. Grassland fires dominated the trend, accounting for 93 % of the decline of the total area burned. Grassland fires in Kazakhstan contributed 47 % of the total area burned and 84 % of the decline. Wetter climate and increased grazing are the principle driving forces for the decline. Our findings: 1) highlight the importance of the complex interactions of climate-vegetation-land use in affecting fire activity, and 2) reveal how the resulting impacts on fire activity in a relatively small region such as Kazakhstan can dominate the trends of burned areas across a much larger landscape of northern Eurasia. Our findings may be used to improve the prediction of future fire dynamics and associated fire emissions in northern Eurasia.
1) We examined the trends of spatial and temporal distribution of the area burned in northern Eurasia from 2002 to 2016.
2) The annual area burned in this region declined by 53 % during the 15-year period.
3) Grassland fires in Kazakhstan dominated the fire activity, comprising 47 % of the area burned but accounting for 84 % of the decline.
4) Wetter climate and the increase of grazing livestock in Kazakhstan are the major factors contributing to the decline of the area burned.
1) We examined the trends of spatial and temporal distribution of the area burned in northern...