Pyrogeography and climate change (co-sponsored with KITP)
Principal Investigators:
David Bowman, and Jennifer K. Balch
It is time to rethink the place of fire on Earth. Megafires are currently overwhelming human control, despite huge budgets and mature fire-fighting technologies. There is mounting evidence that, beyond immediate destruction of life and property, landscape fires have long-term effects on global carbon stocks, biodiversity, climate, world economies, and human health. Despite fire’s pervasive influence in many disciplines, there is no uniting theory or paradigm concerning the role of biomass burning in Earth science. Moreover, fire has not been satisfactorily... more
It is time to rethink the place of fire on Earth. Megafires are currently overwhelming human control, despite huge budgets and mature fire-fighting technologies. There is mounting evidence that, beyond immediate destruction of life and property, landscape fires have long-term effects on global carbon stocks, biodiversity, climate, world economies, and human health. Despite fire’s pervasive influence in many disciplines, there is no uniting theory or paradigm concerning the role of biomass burning in Earth science. Moreover, fire has not been satisfactorily considered by global change policy and ecosystem management. We, therefore, propose a thought experiment addressing (i) whether fire would evolve where carbon-based life is present, (ii) how it would evolve, and (iii) how humans, their cultures, and fire may have coevolved. We will combine knowledge about biomass burning across fields to develop an integrative paradigm of ‘pyrogeography’ that addresses these fundamental questions. In a period of intensifying fire activity, our synthesis will provide crucial information that aids human adaptation.
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Participants and Meetings
Activity | Dates | Further Information |
---|---|---|
Working Group | 27th May—3rd June 2008 | Participant List |
Participant Contact Information
Paulo Artaxo | artaxo@if.usp.br | Universidade de São Paulo |
Jennifer K. Balch | jennifer.balch@colorado.edu | Yale University |
William J. Bond | william.bond@uct.ac.za | University of Cape Town |
David Bowman | david.bowman@utas.edu.au | University of Tasmania |
Jean Carlson | carlson@physics.ucsb.edu | University of California, Santa Barbara |
Mark Cochrane | mark.cochrane@sdstate.edu | South Dakota State University |
Ruth S. DeFries | rd2402@columbia.edu | University of Maryland |
Martin Einhorn | meinhorn@kitp.ucsb.edu | University of California, Santa Barbara |
Fay Johnston | fay.johnston@utas.edu.au | University of Tasmania |
Jon Keeley | jon_keeley@usgs.gov | US Geological Survey (USGS) |
Meg A. Krawchuk | meg_krawchuk@sfu.ca | University of California, Berkeley |
Christian Kull | christian.kull@arts.monash.edu.au | Monash University |
John B. Marston | brad.marston@brown.edu | Brown University |
Max A. Moritz | mmoritz@ucanr.edu | University of California, Berkeley |
I. Colin Prentice | colin.prentice@mq.edu.au | University of Bristol |
Christopher Roos | croos@smu.edu | Southern Methodist University |
Andrew C. Scott | a.scott@gl.rhul.ac.uk | University of London |
Zongbo Shang | zshang1@uwyo.edu | |
Thomas W. Swetnam | tswetnam@ltrr.arizona.edu | University of Arizona |
Guido van der Werf | guido.van.der.werf@falw.vu.nl | Vrije Universiteit |
Products: Publications, Reports, Datasets, Presentations, Visualizations
Type | Products of NCEAS Research |
---|---|
Presentations | Balch, Jennifer K. 2009. Pyrogeography: Fire’s place in Earth system science. Chinese Delegation to NCEAS with representatives from NSF, 28 October 2009. |
Journal Article | Balch, Jennifer K.; Nepstad, Daniel C.; Brando, Paulo M.; Alencar, Ane. 2010. Comment on the incidence of fire in Amazonian forests with implications for REDD. Science. Vol: 330. Pages 1627-b. (Abstract) (Online version) |
Journal Article | Balch, Jennifer K.; Nagy, R. Chelsea; Archibald, Sally; Bowman, David; Moritz, Max A.; Roos, Christopher; Scott, Andrew C.; Williamson, Grant. 2016. Global combustion: The connection between fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions (1997-2010). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. Vol: 371. Pages 20150177. (Online version) |
Journal Article | Bowman, David; Balch, Jennifer K.; Artaxo, Paulo; Bond, William J.; Carlson, Jean; Cochrane, Mark; D'Antonio, Carla M.; DeFries, Ruth S.; Doyle, John C.; Harrison, Sandy P.; Johnston, Fay; Keeley, Jon; Krawchuk, Meg A.; Kull, Christian; Marston, John B.; Moritz, Max A.; Prentice, I. Colin; Roos, Christopher; Scott, Andrew C.; Swetnam, Thomas W.; van der Werf, Guido; Pyne, Stephen J. 2009. Fire in the earth system. Science. Vol: 324. Pages 481-484. (Abstract) (Online version) |
Presentations | Bowman, David. 2009. Pyrogeography. ", Association for Fire Ecology 4th International Fire Ecology & Management Congress, 1 December 2009 . |
Journal Article | Roos, Christopher; Bowman, David; Balch, Jennifer K.; Artaxo, Paulo; Bond, William J.; Cochrane, Mark; D'Antonio, Carla M.; DeFries, Ruth S.; Mack, Michelle C.; Johnston, Fay; Krawchuk, Meg A.; Kull, Christian; Moritz, Max A.; Pyne, Stephen J.; Scott, Andrew C.; Swetnam, Thomas W. 2014. Pyrogeography, historical ecology, and the human dimensions of fire regimes. Journal of Biogeography. Vol: 41. Pages 833-836. (Online version) |
"Pyrogeography and climate change (co-sponsored with KITP)" is project ID: 12299