User talk:McmasterUniversity3B03/sandbox

Carbon storage A significant portion of the world’s total carbon stores can be found in northern latitude biomass and soils.[1] The Boreal Plains Ecozone consists of multiple different eco-regions, each of which hosts many different types of vegetation. Some of the dominant vegetation types in the ecozone include grasslands, peatlands, and forested areas.[2] These varying vegetation types have a range of carbon storage potentials. Natural wildfires often occur within these regions, and act as an integral part of the natural carbon cycle[3] In order to predict how the global carbon cycle will behave in the future, researchers must analyze the effect of natural and anthropogenic wildfires on stored carbon within the Boreal Plain Ecozone. Burning large amounts of biomass within this area will lead to massive carbon emissions, greatly contributing to the issue of rising greenhouse gas levels.

Peatland Peat is defined as wet, organic soil consisting mainly of partially decomposed plant material. Peat is formed in poorly drained regions, where the saturated soils lying below the water table lead to anaerobic conditions. This peat tends to accumulate in the cool temperatures of the boreal region due to the primary control of decomposition by temperature. Worldwide, peatlands occupy an estimated 3.37x106 km2 and it is estimated that 397 to 455Gt of organic carbon underlies northern peatlands alone[4]. Peatlands cover around 1.14x106 km2 of North America[4] and 2-3% of the planet.[1] These peatlands act as large reservoirs for carbon storage, as they are able to accumulate and store large proportions of organic carbon over extended periods of time. Throughout the Holocene, northern peatlands have functioned as a globally important carbon sink, and today, they account for approximately 30% of the global soil carbon pool.[5][6] Annually, 0.076 Pg C is sequestered from the atmosphere by peatland[7], with 76 Tg C of this being stored in North American peatlands.[4] The carbon storage potential of peatland is far superior to other vegetative cover present within the Boreal Plain Ecozone and therefore, plays a much more significant role in the carbon cycle.[1] The carbon storage within these peatlands is accumulating at a rate of 1.94g m-2 year-1, which continues to highlight the importance of this sink for long-term carbon storage.[7] These peatlands play a crucial role in current climate change and global warming issues, as their superior ability to sequester carbon acts as a large sink for many anthropogenic emissions.[1]

Wildfire Fire burns around 20,000-30,000 km2 of forest annually in Canada, and it is approximated that 88% of these fires occur in the Taiga and Boreal regions.[8] Approximately 227,000 ha of biomass in this region is lost to wildfire burning each year (Balshi et al., 2014). Wildfires are an important component to the boreal ecosystems, particularly in high fire years[9]; affecting both immediate carbon release and decadal-scale changes to bio-geochemical and hydrological dynamics. These wildfires not only have direct impacts on the area burned, but also have indirect effects on surrounding areas due to the dissolved or particulate materials deposited[10]. Wildfires therefore influence direct atmospheric carbon emissions through combustion, and indirectly through their productivity impact and influence on carbon sequestration in peatlands.[6] Although wildfires within the Boreal Plain ecozone are more common in forested regions, wildfires can easily spread, significantly impacting nearby peatlands.[4][6] These fires consume the surface vegetation, both living and dead material, and the peat; depending on the soil moisture content and the type of peatland present.[6] The regional differences in climatic and hydrological processes, due to their control on the depth of the water table relative to the surface, is the primary reason for variation in frequency, intensity and extent of fires in the northern peatlands.[6] In addition to this, the position of the water table also directly influences the moisture content of the near-surface peat (explanation?), and thus, plays a significant role in the susceptibility of peatlands to ignition and combustion. [11]

Combustion By-products It is estimated that a single wildfire on average can result in the combustion of 2–3 kg C m-2 of near-surface peat[12], and that wildfires in North America alone contribute 9.6 Tg of carbon per yr-1 to the atmosphere.[6] Although wildfires can occur naturally, these wildfires can be exacerbated by anthropogenic influence, which result in the drying and/or drainage of peatland(s). Once dried out, these peatlands may become extremely susceptible to wildfire, which readily burns the large proportions of biomass. This results in massive carbon dioxide releases, further impacting the global climate. 0.5% of North American peatlands burn annually[4], and it has been said that this proportion is expected to increase in the future. In order to properly estimate the future increases in wildfire occurrence as a result of global climate change, accurate data analysis regarding emissions from Boreal Plains is necessary.[13] Wildfires in this area are often unpredictable, and vary greatly in area burned and severity (Balshi et al, 2014). The effects of climate change on wildfire frequency and intensity are predicted to increase most in northern, continental areas of North America.[4] The predicted future trend of increased warming will change the peat formation/depletion balance whilst adding greenhouse gases, enhancing the aridity of the Ecozone, and ultimately furthering the effects of climate change.[4] Warming summer temperatures can lead to a reduction in soil water which increases the importance of wildfire for this region as wildfire effects will be exacerbated.[4] Without the effects of wildfire, carbon is lost from peatland predominantly through anaerobic microbial decomposition, due to the fact that these peatlands are inundated with water, and anoxic. However, if these peatlands are drained, the drying of these soils will increase aerobic microbial activity (explanation?), and therefore, increase rates of decomposition.[4]

Impacts of Climate Change The recent scientific consensus indicates that climate change impacts will be most significant in the carbon-rich boreal plains ecozone. This conclusion, coupled with the realization that fire activity is extremely sensitive to weather and climate[14], and that carbon dynamics in this region are driven largely by fire[15], suggests that climate change will lead to increasing fire occurrence and severity in the boreal '''zone. This will have''' resultant impacts on terrestrial carbon cycling and storage. It has been suggested that a more arid climate within the Boreal Plains Ecozone will likely result in higher rates of wildfire activity. The severity with which the organic soil burns varies depending on the bulk density of the peat and it’s moisture content, which is depleted by wildfire.[12] However, the assumption of a steady rate of increase in occurring wildfires in the boreal plains region is too simplistic, as wildfire tends to be episodic in nature, with some years experiencing bigger, more disastrous burn years than others (Balshi et al, 2009). Therefore, predicted changes in future fire regime will have strong implications with regards to the future carbon dynamics of this region (Balshi et al, 2014). In addition, peatland affects atmospheric gas concentrations via CH4 and CO2 releases, and therefore have the potential to exacerbate or mitigate anthropogenic climate change.[7] These annual differences make it en extremely difficult task to accurately predict the future effects of wildfires on carbon storage within the Boreal Plains Ecozone.Herryhen (talk) 16:57, 9 April 2018 (UTC)