Fire Weather Climatology in Boreal North America and Eurasia
S1.09-00 Forest Fire Research
Theme: East-West Interdisciplinary Boreal Forest Fire Experiment, Part 1
Moderator: J.G. Goldammer
7.8.1995 16:30 Room: U16
Fire Weather Climatology in Boreal North America and Eurasia
Stocks, Brian J.
After many decades of isolation, North American and Russian fire research scientists have begun to establish collaborative research programs. There is a primary need for mutual familiarization with the extent and impact of forest fires on both continents. As a preliminary step in this process, this paper compares fire weather in Canada and Russian Federation (former USSR) during the 1980s, a decade in which major forest fire losses occurred throughout the boreal zone in both countries. Both the Russian and Canadian fire danger rating systems were used in this analysis.
Results showed that both the Russian and Canadian systems tracked the monthly development of the fire season in each country quite well, moving northward in late spring and southward in late summer. In addition, this analysis showed the immense area of Siberia that experiences high to extreme fire danger during the late spring and throughout the summer, an area three times as large as the similarly-affected region of west-central Canada. A strong disparity in average fire danger was also evident across Canada, with the west-central portion of the country having much higher fire danger than eastern Canada.
Further cooperative fire danger research is planned, with regional-scale investigations underway to determine the suitability of the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System for use in the Russian Federation.
Key words: fire weather, boreal Eurasia, boreal North America.
Correspondence: Brian J. Stocks, Forest Fire Research, Great Lakes Forestry Center, Canadian Forest Service, Onatario Region, CDN-Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 5M7, Canada
Top
Back