Rocky Mountain subalpine forests now burning more than any time in recent millennia
Abstract
Climate change is increasing wildfire activity across the western United States, with unprecedented rates of burning expected in many western forests by mid-century. Here, we use a unique network of fire history records to show that after the extreme 2020 fire season, Rocky Mountain subalpine forests are now burning more than at any point in the past 2,000 y, exceeding variability experienced in response to past climate extremes. Increasingly warm, dry conditions in the 21st century are enabling the exceptional rates of burning, including 2020, consistent with long-standing links between climate and fire in subalpine forests. Continued warming will reinforce newly emerging fire regimes, with significant implications for ecosystems and society.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- June 2021
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.2103135118
- Bibcode:
- 2021PNAS..11803135H
- Keywords:
-
- climate change;
- fire ecology;
- wildfires;
- extreme events;
- paleoecology