Canadian Forest Service Publications
Did enhanced afforestation cause high severity peat burn in the Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire?. 2018. Wilkinson, S.L.; Moore, P.A.; Flannigan, M.D.; Wotton, B.M.; Waddington, J.M. Environmental Research Letters 13: 014018.
Year: 2018
Issued by: Great Lakes Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 39814
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Available from the Journal's Web site. †
DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aaa136
† This site may require a fee
Plain Language Summary
Climate change mediated drying of boreal peatlands is expected to enhance peatland afforestation and wildfire vulnerability. The water table depth–afforestation feedback represents a positive feedback that can enhance peat drying and consolidation and thereby increase peat burn severity; exacerbating the challenges and costs of wildfire suppression efforts and potentially shifting the peatland to a persistent source of atmospheric carbon. To address this wildfire management challenge, we examined burn severity across a gradient of drying in a black spruce dominated peatland that was partially drained in 1975−1980 and burned in the 2016 Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire. While further studies are needed, we believe that quantifying this threshold will aid in developing effective adaptive management techniques and protecting boreal peatland carbon stocks.
