HR: 15:25h
AN: B43E-08    [Abstracts]
TI: Holocene changes in fire frequency in north-western boreal forest of Quebec, Canada
AU: * Cyr, D
EM: dominic\_cyr@videotron.ca
AF: Groupe de Recherche en Ecologie Forestiere interuniversitaire Universite du Quebec a Montreal, P.O. Box 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, Qc. H3C 3P8 Canada
AU: Bergeron, Y
EM: yves.bergeron@uqat.ca
AF: Groupe de Recherche en Ecologie Forestiere interuniversitaire Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue, 445, boul. de l'Universite, Rouyn-Noranda, Qc. J9X 5E4 Canada
AU: Carcaillet, C
EM: carcaillet@univ-montp2.fr
AF: Centre de Bio-Archeologie et d'Ecologie (CNRS UMR 5059) Universite de Montpellier II, 163, rue Auguste Broussonet, Montpellier, F-34090 France
AU: Gauthier, S
EM: sgauthier@cfl.forestry.ca
AF: Natural Resources Canada Canadian Forest Service - Laurentian Forestry Centre, P.O. Box 3800 1055 du P.E.P.S., Quebec, Qc. G1V 4C7 Canada
AU: Hely-Alleaume, C
AF: Centre Europeen de Recherche et d'Enseignement en Geoscience de l'Environnement, PO Box Europole Mediteraneen de l'Arbois Cedex 4, Aix-en-Provence, F-13545 France
AU: Flannigan, M
EM: mflannig@nrcan.gc.ca
AF: Natural Resources Canada Canadian Forest Service - Great Lakes Forestry Centre, 1219 Queen St-East, Sault Ste-Marie, On. P6A 2E5 Canada
AB: Changes in fire frequency were reconstructed for the last 8,000 yrs in the boreal forest of north-western Quebec using dendrochronology and charcoal records in lake sediments and organic soils. During the middle Holocene, fire frequency was characterized by a long period of low frequency between ca. 7500 and 2000 yrs BP. The high fire frequency during the last 2000 years was interrupted by periods of lower fire frequency notably since the end of the Little Ice Age ca 1850 AD. Climate appears to be the main process triggering fire. Simulations using GCMs (2xCO2 scenarios), buttressed by palaeoecological and dendrochronological evidence, suggest that future warming is unlikely to significantly increase fire frequency in the boreal forest of north-eastern Quebec since higher temperature appears to be associated with less frequent drought in this area. Palaeoecological and dendrochronological data clearly demonstrate the changing nature of forest ecosystem dynamics. We discuss the implications of these dynamics on disturbance-based forest management strategies
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting