With a changing climate, fires in far northern forests that smolder throughout winter and erupt again in spring could become more common, a new study suggests.
Zombie forest fires are on the rise. According to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, fires in far northern forests that smolder throughout the wet, cold winters and pop up again in the spring could become more common because of climate change. That presents challenges — but also opportunities — for fire management, and for minimizing the release of greenhouse gases, the researchers say. Most of us think of forest fires as being contained within a single year. And for the most part, they are. But in the Arctic-boreal forests of Alaska, Siberia, Canada’s Northwest Territories and similar landscapes, fires can burn deep into the carbon-rich soil where they linger and lurk, often undetected. “When you think about a forest fire, most people think about trees burning,” said Sander Veraverbeke, a researcher at VU Amsterdam and an author of the paper. The phenomenon has remained somewhat mysterious. Rebecca C. Scholten, a researcher at VU Amsterdam and lead author of the paper, said that when she first set out to study what are also known by the less catchy term “overwintering” fires, “I was doubtful I was researching a phenomenon that exists.” Now, she said, she has ample evidence, and knows that “they are connected to climate change and they are happening more often.” The new study sets out to find how common the fires are, where they are and how to detect them. “What is cool about this paper is it is the first time that it’s been quantified,” said Merritt R.
