Collaborative Research: Increasing wildfires and the loss of legacy carbon from boreal and tundra ecosystems

这项研究的问题是，越来越多的野火将如何改变北部生态系统的碳储存。碳存在于所有生物中，包括海洋、地球和大气。大气中碳含量的增加导致了气候变化，这对全球产生了重大影响。其中一个影响是增加了北部生态系统的野火。在这些生态系统中，大量的碳储存在土壤中。这种碳可以储存很长时间，有时非常陈旧。燃烧这些土壤的野火会将这些旧碳释放到大气中，并导致更多的气候变暖。这个项目将确定这些旧碳在何时何地燃烧。这些信息将帮助我们了解越来越多的野火将如何影响未来的气候。它还将帮助消防经理确定灭火地点的优先顺序。我们将与我们研究地点附近的北部农村社区以及亚利桑那州北部的公民和年轻人分享我们的研究成果。这项研究将调查不断增加的野火将如何影响北极生态系统的长期碳储存。北极生态系统储存了超过40%的陆地碳，历史上一直被认为是碳汇。这意味着它们储存的碳比它们在大气中损失的更多。这些生态系统中的碳主要储存在土壤中很长一段时间，有时是几个世纪。周期性的野火会向大气中释放一些土壤碳。在之前的火灾中逃逸出来的任何土壤碳都被称为“遗留碳”。由于气候变暖，北部生态系统的野火频率和严重性都有所增加。更严重和更频繁的野火可能会燃烧遗留下来的碳，并将北极生态系统从碳汇转变为大气的碳源。这项研究的主要目标是确定控制遗留碳燃烧的过程。了解遗留碳燃烧可能发生的地点和时间，对于预测北极生态系统从碳汇转变为碳源的频率至关重要。这些成果将提高我们对环境变化影响全球碳循环和气候的机制的理解，从而使包括政策制定者在内的全球利益攸关方受益。对于区域和地方利益相关者，如消防管理人员，这项研究将提高我们识别易受遗留碳燃烧影响的地区的能力，以便更好地确定管理决策的优先顺序。我们将通过与阿拉斯加消防科学联盟合作，与消防管理人员分享我们的成果。我们还将雇佣一名当地向导，并与社区成员交流我们的研究目标、进展和发现，从而与阿拉斯加内陆的农村社区接触。最后，我们将通过参加我们当地的科学节，让亚利桑那州北部的公民，特别是年轻人参与北极研究。该奖项由北极自然科学计划和环境生物学部门共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This research asks how increasing wildfires will change carbon storage in northern ecosystems. Carbon is in all living things, the ocean, the earth, and the atmosphere. Increasing carbon in the atmosphere has led to climate change, which has had major effects across the globe. One effect has been increasing wildfires in northern ecosystems. In these ecosystems, large amounts of carbon are stored in soils. This carbon can be stored for a long time and is sometimes very old. Wildfires that burn these soils can release this old carbon to the atmosphere and cause more climate warming. This project will determine where and when this old carbon is burning. This information will help us understand how increasing wildfires will affect future climate. It will also help fire managers set priorities for where to fight fires. We will share our results with rural northern communities near our research sites and with citizens and youth of Northern Arizona.This research will investigate how increasing wildfires will impact the long-term carbon storage of Arctic ecosystems. Arctic ecosystems store over 40% of terrestrial carbon and have historically been considered carbon sinks. This means they store more carbon than they lose to the atmosphere. Carbon in these ecosystems is primarily stored in soils for long periods, sometimes centuries. Periodic wildfires release some soil carbon to the atmosphere. Any soil carbon that escapes burning in a previous fire is called 'legacy carbon.' Due to climate warming, wildfires have increased in frequency and severity in northern ecosystems. More severe and frequent wildfires can combust legacy carbon and shift Arctic ecosystems from a carbon sink to a carbon source to the atmosphere. The main objective of this research is to determine the processes that control legacy carbon combustion. Understanding where and when legacy carbon combustion is likely to occur is essential for predicting how frequently Arctic ecosystems will shift from a carbon sink to a carbon source. These results will benefit global stakeholders, including policymakers, by improving our understanding of the mechanisms through which environmental change affects the global carbon cycle and climate. For regional and local stakeholders, such as fire managers, this research will improve our ability to identify areas vulnerable to legacy carbon combustion to better prioritize management decisions. We will share our results with fire managers by partnering with the Alaska Fire Science Consortium. We will also engage with rural communities in Interior Alaska by hiring a local guide and communicating our research goals, progress, and findings with community members. Finally, we will engage with citizens, particularly youth, of Northern Arizona about Arctic research by participating in our local festival of science.This award is co-funded by the Arctic Natural Sciences Program and the Division of Environmental BiologyThis award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.