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Terrestrial biosphere

The burning issue

Wildfires have been a natural part of the Earth system for millions of years. A new charcoal database for the past two millennia shows that human activity increased biomass burning after AD 1750 and suppressed it after AD 1870.

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Figure 1: Letting fires burn.

Jon Keeley

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Scott, A. The burning issue. Nature Geosci 1, 643–644 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo321

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