Abstract
The goal of this study was to determine whether climate has affected vegetation regrowth over the past decade (2000 to 2010) in post-fire forest ecosystems of the United States and Canada. Our methodology detected trends in the monthly MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) timeseries within forest areas that burned between 1984 and 1999. The trends in summed growing season EVI (composited to 8 km spatial resolution) within all burned area perimeters showed that nearly 1.6% post-fire forest area declined in vegetation greenness cover significantly (p < 0.05) over the past decade. Nearly 62% of all post-fire forest area showed a non significant EVI regrowth trend from 2000 to 2010. Regression results detected numerous significantly negative trend pixels in post-fire areas from 1994-1999 to indicate that forest regrowth has not yet occurred to any measurable level in many recent wildfire areas across the continent. We found several noteworthy relationships between annual temperature and precipitation patterns and negative post-fire forest EVI trends across North America. Change patterns in the climate moisture index (CMI), growing degree days (GDD), and the standardized precipitation index (SPI) were associated with post-fire forest EVI trends. We conclude that temperature warming-induced change and variability of precipitation at local and regional scales may have altered the trends of large post-fire forest regrowth and could be impacting the resilience of post-fire forest ecosystems in North America.
Highlights
In the first several decades following a stand-replacing wildfire, forest ecosystems typically follow a trend of increasing green vegetation cover and productivity [1,2,3,4]
We have examined a decade of MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) trends in post-fire forests across North America to determine if vegetation regrowth trends can provide evidence of ongoing climate change impacts
The MODIS EVI time-series data used in this study provided consistent large-scale metrics of post-fire forest regrowth trends across North America
Summary
In the first several decades following a stand-replacing wildfire, forest ecosystems typically follow a trend of increasing green vegetation cover and productivity [1,2,3,4]. Various environment and climate factors determine the specific rate of the post-fire vegetation recovery, including geographic location, elevation, and extreme weather events [5]. Evidence from historical data sets suggests that 20th Century climate warming may have been associated with increased rates of forest disturbance [6,7]. The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfire disturbance produces potential feedbacks on climate through changes in albedo, forest succession, and carbon sequestration during regrowth [8,9,10]. The trend (positive or negative) in post-fire forest regrowth rates is of interest to both scientists and land managers who are together assessing the sensitivity of natural forest ecosystems to climate change
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
