Forest Fires and Sustainability in the Boreal Forests of Canada

The boreal forest is the largest forest region in Canada, occupying approximately 315 mill. ha. Within this forest region long-term average annual area burned is 1.3 mill. ha, with extreme fire years being common, covering up to 7 million ha in a single fire season. Only 2% to 3% of those fires that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 1998-11, Vol.27 (7), p.545-550
Main Authors: Michael G. Weber, Stocks, Brian J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boreal forests
Climate change
Fire ecology
Fire management
Forest ecosystems
Forest fire detection
Forest fires
Landscapes
Vegetation
Wildfire seasons
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Summary:The boreal forest is the largest forest region in Canada, occupying approximately 315 mill. ha. Within this forest region long-term average annual area burned is 1.3 mill. ha, with extreme fire years being common, covering up to 7 million ha in a single fire season. Only 2% to 3% of those fires that cover more than 200 ha eventually contribute about 98% of the total area burned annually. Careful examination of fire statistics seems to indicate that fire occurrence is increasing in the boreal forest. Boreal forest tree species and ecosystems are adapted to the periodic passage of fire and some would disappear as natural components of the landscape in the absence of fire. Use of fire as a management tool recognizes the natural role of fire and is applied judiciously for ecosystem maintenance and restoration in selected areas. Implications of possible anthropogenically generated climate change are examined within the context of sustainability of the boreal forest biome and the anticipated impact on fire regime and fire management.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209