Work

Effects of fire intensity on carbon dioxide exchange in an arctic dry heath tundra

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The frequency and intensity of wildfires in the Arctic has been increasing due to climate change. However, little is known about the effects of fire intensity on carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange in arctic tundra ecosystems. To investigate this, we conducted an experimental fire with different burn intensities (low intensity, high intensity, and unburned control) and measured surface CO2 fluxes over four growing seasons in a dry heath tundra in West Greenland. We found that post-fire soil temperatures and moisture increased with increasing fire intensity, by up to 2.2 ℃ and 18 vol%, respectively. Fire had no effects on soil microbial biomass, even at the high-intensity burning. The high-intensity fire increased soil nitrate concentrations only immediately after the fire. The ecosystem shifted from a net CO2 sink to a net CO2 source immediately after the fire, due to the reduced gross ecosystem production. One year after the fire, the low-intensity burned plots became a net CO2 sink, while the high-intensity burned plots remained a net CO2 source throughout the study period. This suggests that the time needed for the ecosystem to become a net CO2 sink increases with fire intensity. Fire intensity had no effect on soil respiration, but the high-intensity fire significantly reduced ecosystem respiration (ER) rates one and three years after the fire. This suggests that decreased ER was mainly driven by the reduced aboveground plant respiration. Over four growing seasons after the high-intensity fire, post-fire C losses exceeded the C losses during the fire. Thus, it is essential to consider the long-term C losses following fire to improve understanding of wildfire impacts on arctic tundra C dynamics. Overall, this study highlights that high-intensity fires prolong the duration of burned areas as a net CO2 source, leading to increased post-fire CO2 emissions, when compared to low-intensity fires.

Source: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology

DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.110362

Authors: Wenyi Xu, Anders Lambæk, Bo Elberling, Per Ambus

Institution: University of Copenhagen

Language: English

Topic: Fire effects on ecosystems

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Life on land

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750