Article abstract
Nature Geoscience 1, 697 - 702 (2008)
Published online: 21 September 2008 | Corrected online: 23 February 2009 | doi:10.1038/ngeo313
There is a Corrigendum (23 February 2009) associated with this Article.
Subject Categories: Climate science | Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography
Climate and human influences on global biomass burning over the past two millennia
J. R. Marlon1, P. J. Bartlein1, C. Carcaillet2, D. G. Gavin1, S. P. Harrison3, P. E. Higuera4, F. Joos5, M. J. Power6 & I. C. Prentice7
Abstract
Large, well-documented wildfires have recently generated worldwide attention, and raised concerns about the impacts of humans and climate change on wildfire regimes. However, comparatively little is known about the patterns and driving forces of global fire activity before the twentieth century. Here we compile sedimentary charcoal records spanning six continents to document trends in both natural and anthropogenic biomass burning for the past two millennia. We find that global biomass burning declined from AD 1 to 
1750, before rising sharply between 1750 and 1870. Global burning then declined abruptly after 1870. The early decline in biomass burning occurred in concert with a global cooling trend and despite a rise in the human population. We suggest the subsequent rise was linked to increasing human influences, such as population growth and land-use changes. Our compilation suggests that the final decline occurred despite increasing air temperatures and population. We attribute this reduction in the amount of biomass burned over the past 150 years to the global expansion of intensive grazing, agriculture and fire management.
- Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA
- Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology (UMR5059 CNRS/UM2/EPHE), Institut de Botanique, F-34090 Montpellier, France
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Utah Museum of Natural History, Department of Geography, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
- QUEST, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
Correspondence to: J. R. Marlon1 e-mail: jmarlon@uoregon.edu
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