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Assessing Wildfire Effects in North American Boreal Peatlands through Field and Remote Sensing Analysis

Laura Louise Bourgeau-Chavez, Michigan Tech Research Institute, lchavez@mtu.edu (Presenter)
Sarah Endres, Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), slendres@mtu.edu
Jeremy A Graham, Michigan Tech Research Institute, jeremyg@mtu.edu
Nancy HF French, Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), nhfrench@mtu.edu
Michael Battaglia, Michigan Technological University, mjbattag@mtu.edu
Chelene Hanes, Canadian Forest Service, chelene.hanes@canada.ca
William de Groot, Canadian Forest Service, bill.degroot@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
Jennifer Baltzer, Wilfrid Laurier University, jbaltzer@wlu.ca
Mike Flannigan, University of Alberta, mike.flannigan@ualberta.ca

Higher temperatures and reduced precipitation is leading to widespread seasonal drying in some arctic and boreal landscapes, thereby increasing wildfire frequency and severity. Research studies are needed to better understand the vulnerability of boreal ecosystems to a changing climate. In 2014, Northwest Territories (NWT) Canada had a record breaking year of wildfire, burning over 3.4 million hectares of upland forests, peatlands, and even emergent wetlands. Fire activity occurred across seasons (spring, summer, and fall) in the Taiga Shield and Taiga & Boreal Plains ecozones. We are using field and remote sensing studies to understand the vulnerability and resiliency of boreal ecosystems (with a focus on peatlands) to wildfire in NWT and Alberta. We are using field data to understand the relationship between burn severity, soil moisture and coniferous and deciduous tree recruitment at a fine scale and using remote sensing to understand landscape scale fire effects. Landsat and radar satellite imagery are being used to develop remote sensing algorithms specific to peatlands to map and monitor not only burn severity but also organic soil moisture, and peatland type (e.g. bog vs. fen). Field data analysis of tree recruitment, in situ moisture, burn severity, fuel loading and other biophysical parameters are currently being synthesized. Peatland maps, burn severity maps and initial analysis of tree recruitment data will be presented. The field and remote sensing data are being prepared for integration into CanFIRE (a carbon emissions and fire effects model). This spatial information allows for better quantification of the landscape heterogeneity of peatlands and fire effects, thus providing new insights to landscape scale changes and allowing improved understanding of the implications of increasing wildfire in boreal ecosystems.

Associated Project(s): 

Poster Location ID: 41

Session Assigned: Fire Disturbance

 


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