Project Funding: 2010 - 2013

NRA: 2009 NASA: Terrestrial Ecology   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
The purpose of this project is to assess the impacts of a changing climate on tundra fire and the implications for tundra ecosystem services vulnerable to a changing fire regime. We will investigate the influence of climate change in the Arctic on fire occurrence and fire effects in the tundra ecoregions of North America (NA) and address the question: If fire increases in landscapes where fire is neither currently nor historically of great importance, what impacts will this have on the ecosystem services? Current satellite-based methods for mapping fire at northern latitudes are focused on algorithms tuned to forested landscapes rather than treeless tundra types. Therefore, our current accounting of recent fire for the circumpolar arctic is not complete. Fire regime is also most likely changing, and will be changing quickly since fire is strongly driven by climate. Large, extreme fire events such as the 2007 Anaktuvuk fire have the potential to become more numerous as fire season lengthens and climate conditions become more favorable to fire spread. We intend to connect with current research efforts at the Anaktuvuk site as well as studying fire locations across NA. By looking at fire across the region, the role of fire in shaping ecosystem conditions can be better understood if fire regime changes in Arctic NA. We plan to improve maps of past fire using remote sensing-based techniques for fire mapping but “tuned” to detect fires in treeless, Arctic landscapes. Surface conditions following fire will be assessed in the field, via literature review, personal experience of the study team, and from remote sensing. We will use the acquired knowledge to drive a fire occurrence model fine-tuned to ecosystem specifics of Arctic NA.. We also plan to apply existing climate models within a framework of fire occurrence modeling to develop future fire occurrence scenarios. The fire regime information for the past into the future will be used to learn the possible implications of climate change-induced fire regime change. Influences of particular interest are related to impacts on systems specifically vulnerable to climate change and/or disturbance. The factors we will investigate are: 1) changes to surface hydrology; 2) implications for carbon cycling and sequestration; 3) influences on energy balance (greenhouse gases and albedo); and 4) impacts to wildlife land use, such as caribou forage conditions.

Publications:

French, N. H. F., Whitley, M. A., Jenkins, L. K. 2016. Fire disturbance effects on land surface albedo in Alaskan tundra. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 121(3), 841-854. DOI: 10.1002/2015JG003177

French, N. H. F., Jenkins, L. K., Loboda, T. V., Flannigan, M., Jandt, R., Bourgeau-Chavez, L. L., Whitley, M. 2015. Fire in arctic tundra of Alaska: past fire activity, future fire potential, and significance for land management and ecology. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 24(8), 1045. DOI: 10.1071/WF14167

Jenkins, L., Bourgeau-Chavez, L., French, N., Loboda, T., Thelen, B. 2014. Development of Methods for Detection and Monitoring of Fire Disturbance in the Alaskan Tundra Using a Two-Decade Long Record of Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite Images. Remote Sensing. 6(7), 6347-6364. DOI: 10.3390/rs6076347

Loboda, T. V., French, N. H. F., Hight-Harf, C., Jenkins, L., Miller, M. E. 2013. Mapping fire extent and burn severity in Alaskan tussock tundra: An analysis of the spectral response of tundra vegetation to wildland fire. Remote Sensing of Environment. 134, 194-209. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2013.03.003

Moreno Ruiz, J. A., Riano, D., Arbelo, M., French, N. H., Ustin, S. L., Whiting, M. L. 2012. Burned area mapping time series in Canada (1984-1999) from NOAA-AVHRR LTDR: A comparison with other remote sensing products and fire perimeters. Remote Sensing of Environment. 117, 407-414. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2011.10.017

2013 NASA Terrestrial Ecology Science Team Meeting Poster(s)

• Satellite-Based Detection and Monitoring of Fire and Fire Effects in the North American Tundra   --   (Nancy HF French, Tatiana V Loboda, Mary Ellen Miller, Liza Jenkins, Laura L Bourgeau-Chavez)   [abstract]   [poster]

2011 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)

• Understanding spectral changes in surface reflectance in relation to burn severity in tussock tundra   --   (Tatiana Loboda, Nancy HF French, Carolyn Hight-Harf, Liza Jenkins)   [abstract]

2010 NASA Terrestrial Ecology Science Team Meeting Poster(s)

• Impacts and Implications of Increased Fire in Tundra Regions of North America   --   (Nancy HF French, Tatiana Loboda)   [abstract]   [poster]

More details may be found in the following project profile(s):

• NASA Terrestrial Ecology (TE) Project Profile
• North American Carbon Program (NACP) Project Profile