Changes in fire regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Geography, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK |
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Abstract: | Fire activity has varied globally and continuously since the last glacial maximum (LGM) in response to long-term changes in
global climate and shorter-term regional changes in climate, vegetation, and human land use. We have synthesized sedimentary
charcoal records of biomass burning since the LGM and present global maps showing changes in fire activity for time slices
during the past 21,000 years (as differences in charcoal accumulation values compared to pre-industrial). There is strong
broad-scale coherence in fire activity after the LGM, but spatial heterogeneity in the signals increases thereafter. In North
America, Europe and southern South America, charcoal records indicate less-than-present fire activity during the deglacial
period, from 21,000 to ∼11,000 cal yr BP. In contrast, the tropical latitudes of South America and Africa show greater-than-present
fire activity from ∼19,000 to ∼17,000 cal yr BP and most sites from Indochina and Australia show greater-than-present fire
activity from 16,000 to ∼13,000 cal yr BP. Many sites indicate greater-than-present or near-present activity during the Holocene
with the exception of eastern North America and eastern Asia from 8,000 to ∼3,000 cal yr BP, Indonesia and Australia from
11,000 to 4,000 cal yr BP, and southern South America from 6,000 to 3,000 cal yr BP where fire activity was less than present.
Regional coherence in the patterns of change in fire activity was evident throughout the post-glacial period. These complex
patterns can largely be explained in terms of large-scale climate controls modulated by local changes in vegetation and fuel
load.
The readers are requested to refer to the section “List of contributors” for the complete list of author affiliation details. |
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Keywords: | Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction Biomass burning Palaeofire regimes Charcoal Data-model comparisons |
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