The occurrence of wildfire is influenced by a suite of factors ranging from "top-down" influences (e. g., climate) to "bottom-up" localized influences (e. g., ignitions, fuels, and land use). We carried out the first broad-scale assessment of wildland fire patterns in northern Mexico to assess the relative influence of top-down and bottom-up drivers of fire in a region where frequent fire regimes continued well into the 20th century. Using a network of 67 sites, we assessed (1) fire synchrony and the scales at which synchrony is evident, (2) climate drivers of fire, and (3) asynchrony in fire regime changes. We found high fire synchrony across northern Mexico between 1750 and 2008, with synchrony highest at distances < 400 km. Climate oscillations, especially El Nino-Southern Oscillation, were important drivers of fire synchrony. However, bottom-up factors modified fire occurrence at smaller spatial scales, with variable local influence on the timing of abrupt, unusually long fire-free periods starting between 1887 and 1979 CE. Thirty sites lacked these fire-free periods. In contrast to the neighboring southwestern United States, many ecosystems in northern Mexico maintain frequent fire regimes and intact fire-climate relationships that are useful in understanding climate influences on disturbance across scales of space and time.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/623223 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Yocom Kent, Larissa L., Fulé, Peter Z., Brown, Peter M., Cerano-Paredes, Julián, Cornejo-Oviedo, Eladio, Cortés Montaño, Citlali, Drury, Stacy A., Falk, Donald A., Meunier, Jed, Poulos, Helen M., Skinner, Carl N., Stephens, Scott L., Villanueva-Díaz, José |
| Contributors | Univ Arizona, Sch Nat Resources & Environm, Univ Arizona, Lab Tree Ring Res, School of Forestry; Northern Arizona University; P.O. Box 15018 Flagstaff Arizona 86011 USA, School of Forestry; Northern Arizona University; P.O. Box 15018 Flagstaff Arizona 86011 USA, Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research; 2901 Moore Lane Fort Collins Colorado 80526 USA, National Institute of Forest, Agriculture, and Livestock Research; National Center of Disciplinary Research on Water, Soil, Plants, and Atmosphere; Km. 6.5 Margen Derecha del Canal Sacramento C.P. 35140 Gómez Palacio Durango México, Departamento Forestal; Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro; Calzada Antonio Narro #1923 Buenavista C.P. 25315 Saltillo Coahuila México, School of Forestry; Northern Arizona University; P.O. Box 15018 Flagstaff Arizona 86011 USA, USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station; 1731 Research Park Drive Davis California 95618 USA, School of Natural Resources and the Environment; University of Arizona; 1064 Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Science Operations Center; 2801 Progress Road Madison Wisconsin 53716 USA, College of the Environment; Wesleyan University; 284 High Street Middletown Connecticut 06459 USA, USDA Forest Service; Pacific Southwest Research Station; 3644 Avtech Parkway Redding California 96002 USA, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; University of California; 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley Berkeley California 94720 USA, National Institute of Forest, Agriculture, and Livestock Research; National Center of Disciplinary Research on Water, Soil, Plants, and Atmosphere; Km. 6.5 Margen Derecha del Canal Sacramento C.P. 35140 Gómez Palacio Durango México |
| Publisher | WILEY |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article |
| Rights | © 2017 Yocom Kent et al. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. |
| Relation | http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/ecs2.1709 |
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