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Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Thunderstorms’ Effects on Wildfire in Australia in 2017–2020 Using Data from the ISS LIS and MODIS Space-Based Observations. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13050662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
The impact of thunderstorms on the wildfire situation in Australia in 2017–2020 was investigated using data from the ISS LIS and MODIS space-based observations. To determine lightning-caused wildfires, a Geographic Information System (GIS) method was carried out, which consisted of a combined investigation of the spatial and temporal distributions of strikes and ignition hotspots. The seasonal variability of thunderstorms and wildfire activity was analyzed. It was established that the maximum seasonal distribution of thunderstorm activity does not coincide with wildfire activity. The interannual changes in strikes were recorded, but this was not revealed for the major vegetation types. Of 120,829 flashes, recorded by the ISS LIS sensor, only 23 flashes could be characterized as lightning-caused wildfire events, i.e., the frequency of lightning ignition was equal to 0.00023 fires/stroke. The lightning ignitions usually took place along the boundary of a thunderstorm, in semiarid areas covered by open scrublands. During the dry Australian period (April–September), very few lightning events were detected by the ISS LIS sensor, while fire activity was quite high. Additionally, it was concluded that the impact of thunderstorms on the fire situation is too small to explain the numerous wildfires during the wet period.
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Armenteras D, Dávalos LM, Barreto JS, Miranda A, Hernández-Moreno A, Zamorano-Elgueta C, González-Delgado TM, Meza-Elizalde MC, Retana J. Fire-induced loss of the world's most biodiverse forests in Latin America. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/33/eabd3357. [PMID: 34389532 PMCID: PMC8363147 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd3357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Fire plays a dominant role in deforestation, particularly in the tropics, but the relative extent of transformations and influence of fire frequency on eventual forest loss remain unclear. Here, we analyze the frequency of fire and its influence on postfire forest trajectories between 2001 and 2018. We account for ~1.1% of Latin American forests burnt in 2002-2003 (8,465,850 ha). Although 40.1% of forests (3,393,250 ha) burned only once, by 2018, ~48% of the evergreen forests converted to other, primarily grass-dominated uses. While greater fire frequency yielded more transformation, our results reveal the staggering impact of even a single fire. Increasing fire frequency imposes greater risks of irreversible forest loss, transforming forests into ecosystems increasingly vulnerable to degradation. Reversing this trend is indispensable to both mitigate and adapt to climate change globally. As climate change transforms fire regimes across the region, key actions are needed to conserve Latin American forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dolors Armenteras
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Modelación de Ecosistemas ECOLMOD, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Liliana M Dávalos
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, 630 Life Sciences Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, 129 Dana Hall, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Joan S Barreto
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Modelación de Ecosistemas ECOLMOD, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Alejandro Miranda
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), Santiago, Chile
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Conservación, Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temco, Chile
| | - Angela Hernández-Moreno
- Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Camino Baguales s/n Km 4, Coyhaique, Chile
| | - Carlos Zamorano-Elgueta
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Naturales y Tecnología, Universidad de Aysén, Coyhaique, Chile
| | - Tania M González-Delgado
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Modelación de Ecosistemas ECOLMOD, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - María C Meza-Elizalde
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Modelación de Ecosistemas ECOLMOD, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Javier Retana
- CREAF- Universitat Autonoma Barcelona, 08193, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Spain
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Holocene Fire Regime Changes in the Southern Lake Baikal Region Influenced by Climate-Vegetation-Anthropogenic Activity Interactions. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12080978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Catastrophic fire years that have taken place during the last decade in Siberia, and more generally within the boreal forest, have been directly linked to global warming and had strong repercussions on boreal ecosystems and human populations. In this context the study of the past dynamics of these fires is essential for understanding their links with climate, vegetation and human activity changes on longer time scales than the last few decades. However, few studies on fire dynamics are available for Siberia, and none have been conducted for the entire Holocene period. This study presents the first fire history reconstruction of this area during the Holocene based on charcoals sequestered in sediments of two lakes located on the southern shore of Lake Baikal, in Siberia. The results show a similar trend in the two lakes, with high frequency and high peak magnitude during the Early Holocene and low magnitudes after 6500 cal. yr BP. This difference is interpreted as crown fires versus surface fires. According to pollen records (Dulikha, Vydrino, Ochkovoe) available near the studied lakes, a vegetation transition occurred at the same time. Picea obovata, which has a tree structure prone to crown fires, was dominant during the Early humid Holocene. After 6500 cal. yr BP, conditions were drier and Pinus sylvestris and Pinus sibirica became the dominant species; their tree structure favors surface fires. In addition to vegetation dynamics, the nearby pollen sequence from Dulikha has been used to provide quantitative estimates of past climate, indicating an Early to Middle Holocene climatic optimum between 8000 and 5000 cal. yr BP and an increase in temperatures at the end of the Holocene. These results have been compared to outputs from regional climate models for the Lake Baikal latitudes. Fire dynamics appear to have been more linked to the vegetation than climatic conditions. Over the past 1500 years, the greater presence of human populations has firstly resulted in an increase in the fire frequency, then in its maintenance and finally in its suppression, which may possibly have been due to very recent fire management, i.e., after ca 500 cal. BP.
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Hygienic Condition of Different Water Sources in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia in the Light of a Rapid Warming Trend. ATMOSPHERE 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos11101113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mongolia is a water-scarce land-locked country, and available water resources are utilized for multiple purposes including irrigation, food preparation, drinking water for livestock and people. Limited data availability on water hygiene means that the related risks to public health are only partially understood. This is particularly problematic due to the widespread use of unimproved water sources such as surface water and water from simple shallow wells. Based on two field surveys in the Kharaa River Basin in spring 2017 and 2018, we assessed the presence and quantity of total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), and E. coli bacteria in surface waters and wells and investigated potential linkages between temperature and hygiene. In the Kharaa River and its tributaries, TC concentrations averaged at a most probable number of (MPN) of 754 ± 761 per 100 mL and FC concentrations at an MPN of 31 ± 33. Only small and non-significant correlations between coliform concentrations and temperature were identified. Coliforms concentrations in wells were lower (average MPN for TC: 550 ± 1286, and for FC 58 ± 253). There was considerable variation between wells, with moderate but significant correlations between temperature and bacterial counts. Low water temperatures in April and May (just above freezing to less than 6.5 °C in wells and 7.5 °C to 14.5 °C in the river system) and the positive correlations between temperature and coliform concentrations particularly for well samples indicate that further warming is likely to increase the risks of microbiological water pollution. In the future, this should be complemented by modeling at a watershed scale. This should include the consideration of a trend towards stronger rainfall events, changes in livestock density, and urban sewage treatment and discharge, which are other likely drivers of changes in water hygiene.
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