Abstract
Interannual time-scale associations between fire occurrence and drought indices, the Southern Oscillation, and other synoptic patterns demonstrate that large-scale, long-term atmospheric features are precursors to regional fire activity. However, our knowledge of fire-climate relations over longer (century) timescales is fragmentary because of the rarity of comparable climate and fire time-series with sufficient resolution, length and regional extent. In this study, we develop reconstructions of wildfire occurrence from tree-ring data collected from northwestern New Mexico to compare with a millennium-length dendroclimatic reconstruction of precipitation. Reconstructions of both wildfires and climate show simultaneous changes since AD 1700 that indicate climate forcing of wildfire regimes on interannual to century timescales. Following a centuries-long dry period with high fire frequency (c. AD 1400-1790), annual precipitation increased, fire frequency decreased, and the season of fire shifted from predominantly midsummer to late spring. We hypothesize that these shifts in fire regimes reflect long-term changes in rainfall patterns associated with changes in synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and the Southern Oscillation. Our evidence supports century-scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest, providing a useful analogue of future wildfire regimes expected under changing global climate conditions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 213-220 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Holocene |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 2000 |
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Keywords
- Climatic change
- Dendrochronology
- El Malpais National Monument
- Fire history
- Southwestern USA
- Tree-rings
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Cite this
Century-scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest. / Grissino-Mayer, Henri D.; Swetnam, Thomas.
In: Holocene, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2000, p. 213-220.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Century-scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest
AU - Grissino-Mayer, Henri D.
AU - Swetnam, Thomas
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Interannual time-scale associations between fire occurrence and drought indices, the Southern Oscillation, and other synoptic patterns demonstrate that large-scale, long-term atmospheric features are precursors to regional fire activity. However, our knowledge of fire-climate relations over longer (century) timescales is fragmentary because of the rarity of comparable climate and fire time-series with sufficient resolution, length and regional extent. In this study, we develop reconstructions of wildfire occurrence from tree-ring data collected from northwestern New Mexico to compare with a millennium-length dendroclimatic reconstruction of precipitation. Reconstructions of both wildfires and climate show simultaneous changes since AD 1700 that indicate climate forcing of wildfire regimes on interannual to century timescales. Following a centuries-long dry period with high fire frequency (c. AD 1400-1790), annual precipitation increased, fire frequency decreased, and the season of fire shifted from predominantly midsummer to late spring. We hypothesize that these shifts in fire regimes reflect long-term changes in rainfall patterns associated with changes in synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and the Southern Oscillation. Our evidence supports century-scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest, providing a useful analogue of future wildfire regimes expected under changing global climate conditions.
AB - Interannual time-scale associations between fire occurrence and drought indices, the Southern Oscillation, and other synoptic patterns demonstrate that large-scale, long-term atmospheric features are precursors to regional fire activity. However, our knowledge of fire-climate relations over longer (century) timescales is fragmentary because of the rarity of comparable climate and fire time-series with sufficient resolution, length and regional extent. In this study, we develop reconstructions of wildfire occurrence from tree-ring data collected from northwestern New Mexico to compare with a millennium-length dendroclimatic reconstruction of precipitation. Reconstructions of both wildfires and climate show simultaneous changes since AD 1700 that indicate climate forcing of wildfire regimes on interannual to century timescales. Following a centuries-long dry period with high fire frequency (c. AD 1400-1790), annual precipitation increased, fire frequency decreased, and the season of fire shifted from predominantly midsummer to late spring. We hypothesize that these shifts in fire regimes reflect long-term changes in rainfall patterns associated with changes in synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and the Southern Oscillation. Our evidence supports century-scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest, providing a useful analogue of future wildfire regimes expected under changing global climate conditions.
KW - Climatic change
KW - Dendrochronology
KW - El Malpais National Monument
KW - Fire history
KW - Southwestern USA
KW - Tree-rings
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034066537&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0034066537&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0034066537
VL - 10
SP - 213
EP - 220
JO - Holocene
JF - Holocene
SN - 0959-6836
IS - 2
ER -