The influence of man and climate on frequency of fire in the interior wet belt forest, British Columbia
Johnson EA, Fryer GI, Heathcott MJ. 1990. The influence of man and climate on frequency of fire in the interior wet belt forest, British Columbia. Journal of Ecology. 78(2):403-412
The effects of man and climate on fire frequency have been studied using historical data and a fire-history model in Glacier National Park in British Columbia, Canada. Large, high-intensity, rapidly spreading fires caused by lightning are associated with a characteristic synoptic weather pattern which consists of two parts: (i) intense fuel drying associated with a stationary high-pressure system blocking access of moist Pacific air, and (ii) one or more periods of breakdown of the high-pressure system into low-pressure systems, which create lightning and high winds. To have supplanted climate as a major determinant of fire frequency, man must either have used regular management burning or suppressed fires during critical weather periods. This has not occurred in Glacier National Park; the present fire regime is largely natural.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Johnson, E; Fryer, G; Heathcott, M
- Units
- GLAC
- Keywords
- Fire History, Human Impact