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New development and application needs for Earth system modeling of fire–climate–ecosystem interactions

Formally Refereed

Abstract

Wildfire, climate and ecosystem are interactive components of the Earth system (Bowman et al 2009, Andela et al 2017). Climate and fuel moisture, which is heavily impacted by atmospheric conditions, are primary drivers for fire occurrence and behavior, while vegetation provides necessary fuels for combustion (Pyne et al 1996). On the other hand, fires can feedback climate and ecosystems by emitting carbon and aerosols (Kloster et al 2010, Ward et al 2012, Urbanski 2014), which can affect the global carbon cycle and atmospheric radiation. Removal of trees by fires and subsequent multiple-year vegetation regeneration modify albedo and leave area index (Gitas et al 2012, French et al 2016), which would further change the land–air fluxes of heat, water and momentum.

Citation

Liu, Yongqiang. 2018. New development and application needs for Earth system modeling of fire–climate–ecosystem interactions. Environmental Research Letters. 13(1): 011001-. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaa347.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/56849