Researchers Link Wildfires, Climate Change
Researchers LinkWildfires, Climate Change
Reportby Charles J. Hanley, Associated Press
21-22 July 2006
published in various Newspapers,Journals and Websites
ResearchersLink Wildfires, Climate Change
Friday, 21 July 2006
By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP SpecialCorrespondent
Scientists worldwide are watchingtemperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests go up in flames
Inthe Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
Ateam at California’s Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month,found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequentlydrier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires inthe U.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of LosAngeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links betweenwarming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extremefire season, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-strickenAustralia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerousbushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
NadezdaM. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’s Sukachev Institute of Forestry, saidsouthern Siberia’s average winter temperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.”
Asshe spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institute’s satellite data show that more than 29 million acres _ anarea the size of Pennsylvania _ have been burned in Russia already this year.Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of “hotspots”among endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
“Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,”Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.”It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.”
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Theyalso looked at land-use changes and forest management practices, but concludedthey were secondary factors in the upsurge of fires. There were “many morewildfires burning in hotter than in cooler years,” they reported.
Suchdetailed data don’t exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Butalthough humans are the prime cause, “coupled with climate change, thingsare becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer, director of the Global FireMonitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
Anonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise. Warming in high northernlatitudes is expected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires,notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace,Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadian scientists.
Theirpaper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global and Planetary Change, looks at howcurrent reality compares with still other effects of climate change previouslyforeseen for northern, boreal regions Siberia, Canada, Alaska.
“Theforest in Siberia is shifting northward, and the forest-steppe (mixed forest andplain) is replacing it in the south, “Tchebakova said. “Those were thepredictions.”
InAlaska, the international team found a decline in growth of white spruce treesand a spread of forest insect infestation _ also both predicted in computerizedclimate-change scenarios.
Goldammerpointed out that boreal forests may be crucially linked to the fate of theglobal environment, since the forests and their peat soils hold about one-thirdof Earth’s stored carbon.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, further worsening warming ina planetary feedback loop.
“Thisis a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said of the northern forest. “It’ssitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignition goingon.”
Source: Fox News Com
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Jul21/0,4670,WorldWildfires,00.html
ResearchersLink Wildfires, Climate Change
AsMore Forest Burns Worldwide, More Evidence Points to Global Warming
ByCHARLES J. HANLEY AP Special Correspondent
21July 2006 (AP)
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames
In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southernCalifornia and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge inwildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by global-warmingforecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions inCanada, where fire is destroying an average 6.4 million acres a year, comparedwith 2.5 million in the early 1970s. And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadianscientific paper points to links between warming and wildfires in Siberia, where2006 already qualifies as an extreme fire season, sixth in the past eight years.Far to the south in drought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottestyear on record, and the dangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,”said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring,”she said by telephone from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitationis decreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.”
As she spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through theconifer forests of Evenkiya, a summer fishing and hunting region north ofKrasnoyarsk.
Awildfire burns in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness north of GrandMarais, Minn., Tuesday, 18 July 2006 (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Source: ABCnews
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2221009
Researcherslink wildfires, climate change
CHARLESJ. HANLEY
AssociatedPress
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames.
In theSiberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A team atCalifornia’s Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month, foundthat warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequently driersummer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires in theU.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links betweenwarming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extremefire season, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-strickenAustralia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerousbushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
NadezdaM. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’s Sukachev Institute of Forestry, saidsouthern Siberia’s average winter temperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.”
As shespoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institute’s satellite data show that more than 29 million acres – anarea the size of Pennsylvania – have been burned in Russia already this year.Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of “hotspots”among endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
“Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,”Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.”It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.”
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
They alsolooked at land-use changes and forest management practices, but concluded theywere secondary factors in the upsurge of fires. There were “many morewildfires burning in hotter than in cooler years,” they reported.
Suchdetailed data don’t exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Butalthough humans are the prime cause, “coupled with climate change, thingsare becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer, director of the Global FireMonitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
Anonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise. Warming in high northernlatitudes is expected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires,notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace,Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadian scientists.
Theirpaper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global and Planetary Change, looks at howcurrent reality compares with still other effects of climate change previouslyforeseen for northern, boreal regions – Siberia, Canada, Alaska.
“Theforest in Siberia is shifting northward, and the forest-steppe (mixed forest andplain) is replacing it in the south,” Tchebakova said. “Those were thepredictions.”
InAlaska, the international team found a decline in growth of white spruce treesand a spread of forest insect infestation – also both predicted in computerizedclimate-change scenarios.
Goldammerpointed out that boreal forests may be crucially linked to the fate of theglobal environment, since the forests and their peat soils hold about one-thirdof Earth’s stored carbon.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, further worsening warming ina planetary feedback loop.
“Thisis a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said of the northern forest. “It’ssitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignition goingon.”
Source;: The Mercury news
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/15092899.htm
Experts:Climate Change Spurs Wildfires
CharlesJ. Hanley, Associated Press
21July 2006 Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turndry and vast forests go up in flames
In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southernCalifornia and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge inwildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by global-warmingforecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions inCanada, where fire is destroying an average 6.4 million acres a year, comparedwith 2.5 million in the early 1970s. And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadianscientific paper points to links between warming and wildfires in Siberia, where2006 already qualifies as an extreme fire season, sixth in the past eight years.
Far to the south in drought-stricken Australia,meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerous bushfireseason is growing longer.
“Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,”said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring,”she said by telephone from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitationis decreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.”
As she spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through theconifer forests of Evenkiya, a summer fishing and hunting region north ofKrasnoyarsk.
The Sukachev institute’s satellite data show that morethan 29 million acres an area the size of Pennsylvania – have been burned inRussia already this year. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard inSiberia, of “hotspots” among endless evergreens.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, anauthoritative U.N.-sponsored network of scientists, has long predicted thatsummer drying and droughts would worsen forest fires, which in many regions areprimarily set by humans.
Global temperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheitin the 20th century, and warming will continue as long as manmade “greenhousegases,” mostly carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in theatmosphere, the panel says.
“The change is much more rapid than initiallyforecast 10 or 15 years ago,” Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian ForestService scientist, said of the fires. “It seems people are finallybeginning to take a look at it.”
The Scripps study, in the journal Science, wasunique in collating detailed data from 34 years of U.S. western wildfires withtemperature, snowmelt and streamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widelyfrom year to year, but the California researchers found a clear trend: Theaverage number of large fires almost quadrupled between the first and secondhalves of that period.
They also looked at land-use changes and forestmanagement practices, but concluded they were secondary factors in the upsurgeof fires. There were “many more wildfires burning in hotter than in cooleryears,” they reported.
Such detailed data don’t exist on a global scale.Doing a similar study in Russia would be difficult because Soviet-era recordsare unreliable. And specialists caution that wildfires remain complex phenomena.In many regions, slash-and-burn farmers, arsonists and others start most fires,and fire professionals say modifying human behavior is key.
But although humans are the prime cause, “coupledwith climate change, things are becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer,director of the Global Fire Monitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
Warming in high northern latitudes is expected togenerate more lightning, igniting more forest fires, notes the report by AmberJ. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace, Tchebakova and other U.S.,Russian and Canadian scientists.
APPhoto/Francis Specker
EndlessBattle
Annalisa Laube, of the Colton FireDepartment, watches flames from a wildfire near Morongo Valley, California,about 120 miles east of Los Angeles, on Friday, 14 July 2006.
APPhoto/Jim Mone
ADelicate Balance
Scorchedearth and burned trees are visibile in this aerial photo as the wildfirecontinues to burn in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness north of GrandMarais, Minnesota Tuesday, 18 July 2006
Source: Discovery News
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/07/21/climatefire_pla_02.html?category=earth&guid=20060721150030
Researcherslink wildfires, climate change
Staff and agencies
21 July, 2006
By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames.
A teamat Californias Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month,found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequentlydrier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires inthe U.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of LosAngeles.
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.”
TheSukachev institutes satellite data show that more than 29 million acres an area the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia already thisyear. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of “hotspots”among endless evergreens.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Suchdetailed data dont exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Anonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise. Warming in high northernlatitudes is expected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires,notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace,Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadian scientists.
“Theforest in Siberia is shifting northward, and the forest-steppe (mixed forest andplain) is replacing it in the south,” Tchebakova said. “Those were thepredictions.”
InAlaska, the international team found a decline in growth of white spruce treesand a spread of forest insect infestation also both predicted incomputerized climate-change scenarios.Goldammerpointed out that boreal forests may be crucially linked to the fate of theglobal environment, since the forests and their peat soils hold about one-thirdof Earths stored carbon.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, further worsening warming ina planetary feedback loop.
“Thisis a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said of the northern forest. “Itssitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignition goingon.”
Source: http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00204550.html
Researcherslink wildfires, climate change
21 July 2006, 3:57 p.m. ET
ByCHARLES J. HANLEY
The Associated Press
(AP) Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry andvast forests go up in flames
In theSiberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A team atCalifornia’s Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month, foundthat warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequently driersummer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires in theU.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links betweenwarming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extremefire season, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-strickenAustralia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerousbushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
NadezdaM. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’s Sukachev Institute of Forestry, saidsouthern Siberia’s average winter temperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.”
As shespoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institute’s satellite data show that more than 29 million acres anarea the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia already this year.Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of”hotspots” among endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
“Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,”Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.”It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.”
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
“Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,”Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.”It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.”
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Theyalso looked at land-use changes and forest management practices, but concludedthey were secondary factors in the upsurge of fires. There were “many morewildfires burning in hotter than in cooler years,” they reported.
Suchdetailed data don’t exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Butalthough humans are the prime cause, “coupled with climate change, thingsare becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer, director of the Global FireMonitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
Anonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise. Warming in high northernlatitudes is expected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires,notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace,Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadian scientists.
Theirpaper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global and Planetary Change, looks at howcurrent reality compares with still other effects of climate change previouslyforeseen for northern, boreal regions Siberia, Canada, Alaska.
“Theforest in Siberia is shifting northward, and the forest-steppe (mixed forest andplain) is replacing it in the south,” Tchebakova said. “Those were thepredictions.”
InAlaska, the international team found a decline in growth of white spruce treesand a spread of forest insect infestation also both predicted incomputerized climate-change scenarios.
Goldammerpointed out that boreal forests may be crucially linked to the fate of theglobal environment, since the forests and their peat soils hold about one-thirdof Earth’s stored carbon.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, further worsening warming ina planetary feedback loop.
“Thisis a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said of the northern forest. “It’ssitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignition goingon.”
Source: Mlive com
Warming,wildfires linked, say scientists
ByCHARLES J. HANLEY
AssociatedPress
22July 2006
Scientists worldwide are watchingtemperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests go up in flames
In Siberia and the Canadian Rockies, in southernCalifornia and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge inwildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by global-warmingforecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, which causeearlier snow runoff and drier summer conditions, were the key factor in anexplosion of big wildfires in the American West over three decades, includingfires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions inCanada, where fire is destroying an average 6.4 million acres a year, comparedwith 2.5 million in the early 1970s.
And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paperpoints to links between warming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 alreadyqualifies as an extreme fire season, the sixth in the past eight years.
In drought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was thehottest year on record, and the dangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,”said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in 1980-2000 were warmer than the pre-1960 norm by 3.6 to 7.2degrees Fahrenheit.
“Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring,”she said. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination of elevatedtemperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions for greaterfire occurrence.”
The Sukachev Institute’s satellite data show that morethan 29 million acres – an area the size of Pennsylvania – have been burned inRussia already this year. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard inSiberia of “hotspots” among endless evergreens.
Source: The Buffalo news
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060722/1063102.asp
Study:Wildfires rising globally
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona
Published: 22 July 2006
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames.
In theSiberian taiga and the Canadian Rockies, in Southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
In theSiberian taiga and the Canadian Rockies, in Southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A teamat California’s Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month,found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequentlydrier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires inthe U.S. West over three decades, including recent fires east of Los Angeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links betweenwarming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extremefire season, the sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south indrought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, andthe dangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
NadezdaM. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’s Sukachev Institute of Forestry, saidsouthern Siberia’s average winter temperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.”
As shespoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev Institute’s satellite data show that more than 29 million acres anarea the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia already this year.Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of “hotspots” among endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
“Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,”Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.”It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.”
Source: Azstranet
http://www.azstarnet.com/news/138943
Asmore forests burn worldwide, evidence points to global warming
ByCHARLES J. HANLEY – AP Special Correspondent 22 July 2006
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames.
In theSiberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A team atCalifornias Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month,found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequentlydrier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires inthe U.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of LosAngeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links betweenwarming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extremefire season, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-strickenAustralia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerousbushfire season is growing longer.
Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide, said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
NadezdaM. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russias Sukachev Institute of Forestry,said southern Siberias average winter temperatures in the 1980-2000 periodwere 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than thepre-1960 norm.
Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring, she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.
As shespoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institutes satellite data show that more than 29 million acres an area the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia already thisyear. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, ofhotspots among endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade greenhouse gases, mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Source: Helena Independent Record
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2006/07/22/national/a01072206_05.txt
Wildfireson the rise worldwide
Moreforest fires spread around the globe, more evidence points to global warming
By Charles J. Hanley. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, 22 July 2006
Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise,land turn dry and vast forests go up in flames
In theSiberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers are finding growing evidence tying a surge in wildfires to climatechange, an effect long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A teamat California’s Scripps Institution reported this month that highertemperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequently drier summerconditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires in the westernUnited States.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage of 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early1970s. And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to linksbetween warming and wildfires in Siberia, where this year has already qualifiedas an extreme fire season, the sixth in the past eight years. Far to the southin drought-stricken Australia, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and itsdangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
NadezdaTchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’s Sukachev Institute of Forestry, saidsouthern Siberia’s average winter temperatures in the 1980 to 2000 period were3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said. “Precipitation isdecreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.”
As shespoke, new blazes raced through the coniferous forests of Evenkiya, a summerfishing and hunting region north of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institute’s satellite data show that more than 29 million acres anarea the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia this year. Orbitingcameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia of hot spots among endlessevergreens.
Also,warming in high northern latitudes is expected to generate more lightning,igniting more forest fires, according to the upcoming report in the U.S. journalGlobal and Planetary Change by NASA’s Amber Soja, Tchebakova and other U.S.,Russian and Canadian scientists.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N.-sponsored network ofscientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts would worsenforest fires.
Globaltemperatures rose an average of 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide fromburning fossil fuels, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panel says.
“Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,”Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.”It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.”
TheScripps study, published in the journal Science, was unique in collatingdetailed data from 34 years of western U.S. wildfires with temperature, snowmeltand streamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, butthe California researchers found a clear trend: The average number of largefires almost quadrupled from the first to the second half of that period.
Theyalso looked at land-use changes and forest management practices but concludedthat they were secondary factors in the surge of fires. There were “manymore wildfires burning in hotter than in cooler years,” they reported.
Suchdetailed data do not exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Butalthough humans are the primary cause, “coupled with climate change, thingsare becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer, director of the Global FireMonitoring Center at Germany’s University of Freiburg.
Tatan Syuflana
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In Riau province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra,government negligence, development and illegal land clearing have sparkedmassive fires that have ravaged
Source: Statesman.com
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/world/07/22wildfires.html
Researcherslink wildfires, climate change
21 July 2006
By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent
Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise,the land turn dry and vast forests go up in flames
A teamat Californias Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month,found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequentlydrier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires inthe U.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of LosAngeles.
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.”
TheSukachev institutes satellite data show that more than 29 million acres an area the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia already thisyear. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of”hotspots” among endless evergreens.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Suchdetailed data dont exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Anonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise. Warming in high northernlatitudes is expected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires,notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace,Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadian scientists.
“Theforest in Siberia is shifting northward, and the forest-steppe (mixed forest andplain) is replacing it in the south,” Tchebakova said. “Those were thepredictions.”
InAlaska, the international team found a decline in growth of white spruce treesand a spread of forest insect infestation also both predicted incomputerized climate-change scenarios.
Goldammerpointed out that boreal forests may be crucially linked to the fate of theglobal environment, since the forests and their peat soils hold about one-thirdof Earths stored carbon.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, further worsening warming ina planetary feedback loop.
“Thisis a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said of the northern forest. “Itssitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignition goingon.”
Source: Jordan Falls News
http://www.localnewswatch.com/jordanfalls/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=204550
ResearchersLink Wildfires, Climate Change
AsMore Forest Burns Worldwide, More Evidence Points to Global Warming
byCHARLES J. HANLEY AP Special Correspondent
21 July 2006 (AP) Scientists worldwide are watchingtemperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests go up in flames. In theSiberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions inCanada, where fire is destroying an average 6.4 million acres a year, comparedwith 2.5 million in the early 1970s. And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadianscientific paper points to links between warming and wildfires in Siberia, where2006 already qualifies as an extreme fire season, sixth in the past eight years.Far to the south in drought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottestyear on record, and the dangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,”said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring,”she said by telephone from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitationis decreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.”
As she spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through theconifer forests of Evenkiya, a summer fishing and hunting region north ofKrasnoyarsk.
Awildfire continues to burn in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness north ofGrand Marais, Minn., Tuesday, 18 July 2006 with more about 23-square milesalready burned.
(APPhoto/Jim Mone)
Source: ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2222692
ResearchersLink Wildfires, Climate Change
21 July 2006
(AP)Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vastforests go up in flames. In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southernCalifornia and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge inwildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by global-warmingforecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions inCanada, where fire is destroying an average 6.4 million acres a year, comparedwith 2.5 million in the early 1970s. And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadianscientific paper points to links between warming and wildfires in Siberia, where2006 already qualifies as an extreme fire season, sixth in the past eight years.Far to the south in drought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottestyear on record, and the dangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,”said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring,”she said by telephone from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitationis decreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.”
As she spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through theconifer forests of Evenkiya, a summer fishing and hunting region north ofKrasnoyarsk.
The Sukachev institute’s satellite data show that morethan 29 million acres an area the size of Pennsylvania have been burnedin Russia already this year. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboardin Siberia, of “hotspots” among endless evergreens.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, anauthoritative U.N.-sponsored network of scientists, has long predicted thatsummer drying and droughts would worsen forest fires, which in many regions areprimarily set by humans.
Global temperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheitin the 20th century, and warming will continue as long as manmade”greenhouse gases,” mostly carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning,accumulate in the atmosphere, the panel says.
“The change is much more rapid than initiallyforecast 10 or 15 years ago,” Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian ForestService scientist, said of the fires. “It seems people are finallybeginning to take a look at it.”
The Scripps study, in the journal Science, was uniquein collating detailed data from 34 years of U.S. western wildfires withtemperature, snowmelt and streamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widelyfrom year to year, but the California researchers found a clear trend: Theaverage number of large fires almost quadrupled between the first and secondhalves of that period.
They also looked at land-use changes and forestmanagement practices, but concluded they were secondary factors in the upsurgeof fires. There were “many more wildfires burning in hotter than in cooleryears,” they reported.
Such detailed data don’t exist on a global scale. Doinga similar study in Russia would be difficult because Soviet-era records areunreliable. And specialists caution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. Inmany regions, slash-and-burn farmers, arsonists and others start most fires, andfire professionals say modifying human behavior is key.
But although humans are the prime cause, “coupledwith climate change, things are becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer,director of the Global Fire Monitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
A nonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise.Warming in high northern latitudes is expected to generate more lightning,igniting more forest fires, notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S.National Institute of Aerospace, Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadianscientists.
Their paper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global andPlanetary Change, looks at how current reality compares with still other effectsof climate change previously foreseen for northern, boreal regions Siberia,Canada, Alaska.
“The forest in Siberia is shifting northward, andthe forest-steppe (mixed forest and plain) is replacing it in the south,”Tchebakova said. “Those were the predictions.”
In Alaska, the international team found a decline ingrowth of white spruce trees and a spread of forest insect infestation alsoboth predicted in computerized climate-change scenarios.
Goldammer pointed out that boreal forests may becrucially linked to the fate of the global environment, since the forests andtheir peat soils hold about one-third of Earth’s stored carbon.
Forest and peat fires release carbon dioxide into theatmosphere, adding to climate warming, which in turn will intensify forestfires, further worsening warming in a planetary feedback loop.
“This is a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said of the northern forest.”It’s sitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignitiongoing on.”
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
CBS
Source: CBS2Chicago.com
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/topstories_story_202222649.html
Asthings heat up, fires swell
Warmertemperatures worldwide were key in an increase of fires in recent decades,studies say
ByASSOCIATED PRESS
Published22 July 2006
Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise,land turn dry and vast forests go up in flames.
In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southernCalifornia and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge inwildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by global warmingforecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions inCanada, where fire is destroying an average of 6.4-million acres a year,compared with 2.5-million in the early 1970s. And an upcomingU.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links between warming andwildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extreme fire season,sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-stricken Australia,2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerous bushfire season isgrowing longer.
“Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,”said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 3.6 to 7.2 degrees warmer than thepre-1960 norm.
“Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring,”she said by telephone from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitationis decreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.”
As she spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through theconifer forests of Evenkiya, a summer fishing and hunting region north ofKrasnoyarsk.
The Sukachev Institute’s satellite data show that morethan 29-million acres – an area the size of Pennsylvania – have been burned inRussia already this year. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard inSiberia of “hotspots” among endless evergreens.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, anauthoritative U.N.-sponsored network of scientists, has long predicted thatsummer drying and droughts would worsen forest fires, which in many regions areprimarily set by humans.
Global temperatures rose an average of 1 degree in the20th century, and warming will continue as long as manmade “greenhousegases,” mostly carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in theatmosphere, the panel says.
“The change is much more rapid than initiallyforecast 10 or 15 years ago,” Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian ForestService scientist, said of the fires. “It seems people are finallybeginning to take a look at it.”
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. Western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
They also looked at land use changes and forestmanagement practices, but concluded they were secondary factors in the upsurgeof fires. There were “many more wildfires burning in hotter than in cooleryears,” they reported.
Such detailed data doesn’t exist on a global scale.Doing a similar study in Russia would be difficult because Soviet-era recordsare unreliable. And specialists caution that wildfires remain complex phenomena.In many regions, slash-and-burn farmers, arsonists and others start most fires,and fire professionals say modifying human behavior is key.
But although humans are the prime cause, “coupledwith climate change, things are becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer,director of the Global Fire Monitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
A nonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise.Warming in high northern latitudes is expected to generate more lightning,igniting more forest fires, notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S.National Institute of Aerospace, Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadianscientists.
Their paper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global andPlanetary Change, looks at how current reality compares with still other effectsof climate change previously foreseen for northern, boreal regions – Siberia,Canada, Alaska.
“The forest in Siberia is shifting northward, andthe forest-steppe (mixed forest and plain) is replacing it in the south,”Tchebakova said. “Those were the predictions.”
In Alaska, the international team found a decline ingrowth of white spruce trees and a spread of forest insect infestation – alsoboth predicted in computerized climate-change scenarios.
Goldammer said boreal forests may be crucially linkedto the fate of the global environment, since the forests and their peat soilshold about one-third of Earth’s stored carbon.
Forest and peat fires release carbon dioxide into theatmosphere, adding to climate warming, which in turn will intensify forestfires, further worsening warming in a planetary feedback loop.
“This is a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said ofthe northern forest. “It’s sitting there waiting to be ignited, and thereis already ignition going on.”
Source: St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/22/Worldandnation/As_things_heat_up__fi.shtml
Scientiststie fires to global warming
It’snot just the West that is seeing an increase in wildfires due to dry brush.Siberia and the Canadian Rockies are seeing a marked increase as well.
ByCharles J. Hanley, The Associated Press
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames
In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in SouthernCalifornia and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge inwildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by global-warmingforecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions inCanada, where fire is destroying an average 6.4 million acres a year, comparedwith 2.5 million in the early 1970s. And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadianscientific paper points to links between warming and wildfires in Siberia, where2006 already qualifies as an extreme fire season, sixth in the past eight years.Far to the south in drought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottestyear on record, and the dangerous bush-fire season is growing longer.
“Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,”said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 3.6 degrees to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheitwarmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring,”she said by telephone from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitationis decreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.”
As she spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through theconifer forests of Evenkiya, a summer fishing and hunting region north ofKrasnoyarsk.
The Sukachev institute’s satellite data show that morethan 29 million acres — an area the size of Pennsylvania — have been burned inRussia already this year. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard inSiberia, of “hotspots” among endless evergreens.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, anauthoritative U.N.-sponsored network of scientists, has long predicted thatsummer drying and droughts would worsen forest fires, which in many regions areprimarily set by humans.
Global temperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheitin the 20th century, and warming will continue as long as manmade”greenhouse gases,” mostly carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning,accumulate in the atmosphere, the panel says.
“The change is much more rapid than initiallyforecast 10 or 15 years ago,” Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian ForestService scientist, said of the fires. “It seems people are finallybeginning to take a look at it.”
Source: Dailybreeze.com
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/nationworld/articles/3404351.html
Global Wildfire Onslaught Blamed On Global Warming
By AP Correspondent, Charles Hanley
Published on 22 July 2006
Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise,the land turn dry and vast forests go up in flames
In theSiberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A team atCalifornia’s Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month, foundthat warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequently driersummer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires in theU.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links betweenwarming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extremefire season, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-strickenAustralia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerousbushfire season is growing longer.
Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide, said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
NadezdaM. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’s Sukachev Institute of Forestry, saidsouthern Siberia’s average winter temperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring, she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.
As shespoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institute’s satellite data show that more than 29 million acres anarea the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia already this year.Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of hotspotsamong endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade greenhouse gases, mostly carbondioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panel says.
Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago, BrianStocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires. Itseems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
They alsolooked at land-use changes and forest management practices, but concluded theywere secondary factors in the upsurge of fires. There were many morewildfires burning in hotter than in cooler years, they reported.
Suchdetailed data don’t exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Butalthough humans are the prime cause, coupled with climate change, things arebecoming worse, said Johann Goldammer, director of the Global Fire MonitoringCenter at Germany’s Freiburg University.
Anonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise. Warming in high northernlatitudes is expected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires,notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace,Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadian scientists.
Theirpaper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global and Planetary Change, looks at howcurrent reality compares with still other effects of climate change previouslyforeseen for northern, boreal regions Siberia, Canada, Alaska.
Theforest in Siberia is shifting northward, and the forest-steppe (mixed forest andplain) is replacing it in the south, Tchebakova said. Those were thepredictions.
InAlaska, the international team found a decline in growth of white spruce treesand a spread of forest insect infestation also both predicted incomputerized climate-change scenarios.
Goldammerpointed out that boreal forests may be crucially linked to the fate of theglobal environment, since the forests and their peat soils hold about one-thirdof Earth’s stored carbon.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, further worsening warming ina planetary feedback loop.
Thisis a carbon bomb, Goldammer said of the northern forest. It’s sittingthere waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignition going on.
Source: theday.com
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=f969f124-8e9f-48eb-b740-96f3c24ebcb5
Worldwildfires
byThe Associated Press
Saturday, 22 July 2006 12:11 AM EDT
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperature rise, the land turn dry and vast forest go upin flames
In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southernCalifornia and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge inwildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by global-warmingforecasters.
A team at California’s Scripps Institution, in aheadline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles. Researchers previouslyreached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying an average 6.4million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s. And anupcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links between warmingand wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extreme fireseason, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-strickenAustralia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerousbushfire season is growing longer.
Temperature increases are intimately linked withincreases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the same worldwide,said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Service researcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’sSukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberia’s average wintertemperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
Snowmelt starts much earlier in the spring, shesaid by telephone from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Precipitation isdecreasing. This combination of elevated temperatures and decreasedprecipitation should provide conditions for greater fire occurrence.
As she spoke, newly ignited blazes raced through theconifer forests of Evenkiya, a summer fishing and hunting region north ofKrasnoyarsk.
The Sukachev institute’s satellite data show that morethan 29 million acres – an area the size of Pennsylvania – have been burned inRussia already this year. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard inSiberia, of hotspots among endless evergreens.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, anauthoritative U.N.-sponsored network of scientists, has long predicted thatsummer drying and droughts would worsen forest fires, which in many regions areprimarily set by humans.
Global temperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheitin the 20th century, and warming will continue as long as manmade greenhousegases, mostly carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in theatmosphere, the panel says.
The change is much more rapid than initiallyforecast 10 or 15 years ago, Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Servicescientist, said of the fires. It seems people are finally beginning to take alook at it.
The Scripps study, in the journal Science, was uniquein collating detailed data from 34 years of U.S. western wildfires withtemperature, snowmelt and streamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widelyfrom year to year, but the California researchers found a clear trend: Theaverage number of large fires almost quadrupled between the first and secondhalves of that period.
They also looked at land-use changes and forestmanagement practices, but concluded they were secondary factors in the upsurgeof fires. There were many more wildfires burning in hotter than in cooleryears, they reported.
Such detailed data don’t exist on a global scale. Doinga similar study in Russia would be difficult because Soviet-era records areunreliable. And specialists caution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. Inmany regions, slash-and-burn farmers, arsonists and others start most fires, andfire professionals say modifying human behavior is key.
But although humans are the prime cause, coupledwith climate change, things are becoming worse, said Johann Goldammer,director of the Global Fire Monitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
A nonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise.Warming in high northern latitudes is expected to generate more lightning,igniting more forest fires, notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S.National Institute of Aerospace, Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadianscientists.
Their paper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global andPlanetary Change, looks at how current reality compares with still other effectsof climate change previously foreseen for northern, boreal regions – Siberia,Canada, Alaska.
The forest in Siberia is shifting northward, and theforest-steppe (mixed forest and plain) is replacing it in the south,Tchebakova said. Those were the predictions.
In Alaska, the international team found a decline ingrowth of white spruce trees and a spread of forest insect infestation – alsoboth predicted in computerized climate-change scenarios.
Goldammer pointed out that boreal forests may becrucially linked to the fate of the global environment, since the forests andtheir peat soils hold about one-third of Earth’s stored carbon.
Forest and peat fires release carbon dioxide into theatmosphere, adding to climate warming, which in turn will intensify forestfires, further worsening warming in a planetary feedback loop.
This is a carbon bomb, Goldammer said of thenorthern forest. It’s sitting there waiting to be ignited, and there isalready ignition going on.
Source: Auburnpub.com
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2006/07/22/news/nation_world/nation03.txt
Scientistslink fires to global warming
ByCHARLES J. HANLEY
TheAssociated Press
Posted on 22 July 2006
CLIMATE CONTROVERSY
Scientists worldwide are watching temperatures rise,the land turn dry, and vast forests go up in flames.
In theSiberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern California and Australia,researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climatechange, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A team atCalifornias Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month,found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequentlydrier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires inthe U.S. West during three decades, including fires now rampaging east of LosAngeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.
And anupcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links between warmingand wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extreme fireseason, the sixth in the past eight years.
Far tothe south in drought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year onrecord, and the dangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide, said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Anonhuman cause also might be on the rise. Warming in high northern latitudes isexpected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, worsening warming in aplanetary feedback loop.
Thisis a carbon bomb, Johann Goldammer, director of the Global Fire MonitoringCenter at Germanys Freiburg University, said of the northern forest.Its sitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignitiongoing on.
Source: Thestate.com
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/15097329.htm
As more forests burn worldwide, evidence points to global warming
By CHARLES J. HANLEY – AP Special Correspondent – 22/ July 2006
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames.
In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, insouthern California and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying anupsurge in wildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted byglobal-warming forecasters.
A team at Californias Scripps Institution, ina headline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causingearlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the keyfactor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades,including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles.
Researchers previously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire isdestroying an average 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in theearly 1970s. And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points tolinks between warming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies asan extreme fire season, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south indrought-stricken Australia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, andthe dangerous bushfire season is growing longer.
Temperature increases are intimately linkedwith increases in area burned in Canada, and I would expect the sameworldwide, said Mike Flannigan, a veteran Canadian Forest Serviceresearcher.
Nadezda M. Tchebakova, a climatologist atRussias Sukachev Institute of Forestry, said southern Siberias averagewinter temperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring, she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.
As shespoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institutes satellite data show that more than 29 million acres an area the size of Pennsylvania have been burned in Russia already thisyear. Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, ofhotspots among endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade greenhouse gases, mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Source:Helena Independent Record
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2006/07/22/national/a01072206_05.txt
ResearchersLink Wildfires, Climate Change
22July 2006
Scientistsworldwide are watching temperatures rise, the land turn dry and vast forests goup in flames. In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies, in southern Californiaand Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfiresto climate change, an impact long predicted by global-warming forecasters.
A teamat California’s Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month,found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequentlydrier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires inthe U.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of LosAngeles.
Researcherspreviously reached similar conclusions in Canada, where fire is destroying anaverage 6.4 million acres a year, compared with 2.5 million in the early 1970s.And an upcoming U.S.-Russian-Canadian scientific paper points to links betweenwarming and wildfires in Siberia, where 2006 already qualifies as an extremefire season, sixth in the past eight years. Far to the south in drought-strickenAustralia, meanwhile, 2005 was the hottest year on record, and the dangerousbushfire season is growing longer.
“Temperatureincreases are intimately linked with increases in area burned in Canada, and Iwould expect the same worldwide,” said Mike Flannigan, a veteran CanadianForest Service researcher.
NadezdaM. Tchebakova, a climatologist at Russia’s Sukachev Institute of Forestry, saidsouthern Siberia’s average winter temperatures in the 1980-2000 period were 2 to4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-1960 norm.
“Snowmeltstarts much earlier in the spring,” she said by telephone from the Siberiancity of Krasnoyarsk. “Precipitation is decreasing. This combination ofelevated temperatures and decreased precipitation should provide conditions forgreater fire occurrence.”
As shespoke, newly ignited blazes raced through the conifer forests of Evenkiya, asummer fishing and hunting region north of Krasnoyarsk.
TheSukachev institute’s satellite data show that more than 29 million acres _ anarea the size of Pennsylvania _ have been burned in Russia already this year.Orbiting cameras see a red-and-green checkerboard in Siberia, of”hotspots” among endless evergreens.
TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N.-sponsorednetwork of scientists, has long predicted that summer drying and droughts wouldworsen forest fires, which in many regions are primarily set by humans.
Globaltemperatures rose an average 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century, andwarming will continue as long as manmade “greenhouse gases,” mostlycarbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, accumulate in the atmosphere, the panelsays.
“Thechange is much more rapid than initially forecast 10 or 15 years ago,”Brian Stocks, a retired Canadian Forest Service scientist, said of the fires.”It seems people are finally beginning to take a look at it.”
TheScripps study, in the journal Science, was unique in collating detailed datafrom 34 years of U.S. western wildfires with temperature, snowmelt andstreamflow records. Wildfire frequency varies widely from year to year, but theCalifornia researchers found a clear trend: The average number of large firesalmost quadrupled between the first and second halves of that period.
Theyalso looked at land-use changes and forest management practices, but concludedthey were secondary factors in the upsurge of fires. There were “many morewildfires burning in hotter than in cooler years,” they reported.
Suchdetailed data don’t exist on a global scale. Doing a similar study in Russiawould be difficult because Soviet-era records are unreliable. And specialistscaution that wildfires remain complex phenomena. In many regions, slash-and-burnfarmers, arsonists and others start most fires, and fire professionals saymodifying human behavior is key.
Butalthough humans are the prime cause, “coupled with climate change, thingsare becoming worse,” said Johann Goldammer, director of the Global FireMonitoring Center at Germany’s Freiburg University.
Anonhuman cause, meanwhile, may be on the rise. Warming in high northernlatitudes is expected to generate more lightning, igniting more forest fires,notes the report by Amber J. Soja of the U.S. National Institute of Aerospace,Tchebakova and other U.S., Russian and Canadian scientists.
Theirpaper, upcoming in the U.S. journal Global and Planetary Change, looks at howcurrent reality compares with still other effects of climate change previouslyforeseen for northern, boreal regions _ Siberia, Canada, Alaska.
“Theforest in Siberia is shifting northward, and the forest-steppe (mixed forest andplain) is replacing it in the south,” Tchebakova said. “Those were thepredictions.”
InAlaska, the international team found a decline in growth of white spruce treesand a spread of forest insect infestation _ also both predicted in computerizedclimate-change scenarios.
Goldammerpointed out that boreal forests may be crucially linked to the fate of theglobal environment, since the forests and their peat soils hold about one-thirdof Earth’s stored carbon.
Forestand peat fires release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to climatewarming, which in turn will intensify forest fires, further worsening warming ina planetary feedback loop.
“Thisis a carbon bomb,” Goldammer said of the northern forest. “It’ssitting there waiting to be ignited, and there is already ignition goingon.”
Firefighter Scott Bryson of the California Department of Forestry sets backfires with a torch as the Sawtooth Complex fire moves through Morongo Valley, Calif., Thursday, July 13, 2006. Evacuation orders were lifted for several communities, including the old Western film locale of Pioneertown, but new evacuations were ordered for dozens of homes in Morongo Valley, and residents of Burns Canyon and Rimrock remained unable to return home (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Source: CBS
http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.57318.html
