PI: Eric S. Kasischke
Elizabeth Hoy

Awarding Institution: NASA NESSF Program
Total Funding: 30,000
3 Year Project Study, 09/01/09 - 08/31/10

The influence of fire-free interval on carbon cycling in the Alaskan boreal forest

High Northern Latitude (HLN) (boreal) forests contain vast quantities of carbon because many contain deep organic soils.  Recent climate change has resulted in a significant increase in average area burned across the NA boreal forest, which in turn has resulted in a decrease in the fire-free interval in many ecosystems.  In interior Alaska, black spruce is the dominant vegetation type (containing 63% of the landscape) and forest type (86% of all forests).  While recent research has focused on understanding variations in burning characteristics in mature spruce forests, little research has been conducted on patterns of more frequent burning in this forest type.  A better understanding of the fire regime dynamics, in particular the changes in the frequency of fire and changes to the fire free interval is crucial to understanding the overall carbon cycle for this region.  The goal of this project is to assess impacts of changes in fire-free interval on carbon cycling in black spruce forests.  GIS and remote sensing data are used in conjunction with ground based measurements to understand and model changes to the black spruce forests.  Finally, a process-based terrestrial ecosystem model (TEM) is used to predict effects of a changing fire frequency on Alaskan boreal forests.