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Chiara Molinari

Chiara Molinari

Postdoctoral fellow

Chiara Molinari

Holocene fire in Fennoscandia and Denmark

Author

  • Jennifer Clear
  • Chiara Molinari
  • Richard Bradshaw

Summary, in English

Natural disturbance dynamics, such as fire, have a fundamental control on forest composition and structure.

Knowledge of fire history and the dominant drivers of fire are becoming increasingly important for conservation and

management practice. Temporal and spatial variability in biomass burning is examined here using 170 charcoal and 15 fire

scar records collated throughout Fennoscandia and Denmark. The changing fire regime is discussed in relation to

local biogeographical controls, regional climatic change, anthropogenic land use and fire suppression. The region has

experienced episodic variability in the dominant drivers of biomass burning throughout the Holocene, creating a

frequently changing fire regime. Early Holocene biomass burning appears to be driven by fuel availability. Increased

continentality during the mid-Holocene Thermal Maximum coincides with an increase in fire. The mid–late Holocene

front-like spread of Picea abies (Norway spruce) and cooler, wetter climatic conditions reduce local biomass burning

before the onset of intensified anthropogenic land use, and the late Holocene increase in anthropogenic activity created

artificially high records of biomass burning that overshadowed the natural fire signal. An economic shift from extensive

subsistence land use to agriculture and forestry as well as active fire suppression has reduced regional biomass burning.

However, it is proposed that without anthropogenic fire suppression, the underlying natural fire signal would remain low

because of the now widespread dominance of P. abies.

Department/s

  • Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
  • MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate

Publishing year

2014

Language

English

Pages

781-789

Publication/Series

International Journal of Wildland Fire

Volume

23

Issue

6

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

CSIRO Publishing

Topic

  • Physical Geography

Keywords

  • biomass burning
  • climate change
  • fire suppression
  • slash and burn

Status

Published

Research group

  • Fire dynamics

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1448-5516