Holocene Fire History and the Vulnerability of a Primary Rainforest to Fire Encroachment

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GEOGRAPHY SPATIAL SCIENCES (GSS) PROGRAM ABSTRACT This research project will investigate the historical precedence of forest fires in order to provide new knowledge about the resiliency of tropical rainforests to fires. By studying the paleoecology of disturbance regimes from a historical context, the investigator will provide new insights into the stability of a pristine rainforest. The investigator's analyses of the spatio-temporal patterns of fire across multiple habitat types will transform basic understanding of distinguishing climate-induced fire impacts versus those that were human-induced. The project will address fundamental questions of fire ecology and landscape disturbance in a highly biodiverse ecosystem. The project will have a strong focus on educational and research capacity-building in the study region. It will foster collaboration across U.S. and foreign organizations, and it will provide a strong foundation for interdisciplinary education and training of undergraduate and graduate students. Project results will promote collaborative ties among national and international partners to increase their capabilities to address issues related to tropical forest stewardship across many parts of the Earth. Soil charcoal records provide insight into the potentially important role of fire in the ecology of rainforests affected by episodic droughts. This project will focus on four core questions: (1) How prevalent was fire during the Holocene and earlier periods? (2) Is the spatial pattern of fire consistent with climatic control or with agricultural activities associated with shifting cultivation? (3) What is the quantity of pyrogenic organic matter in soils among different habitats, and how well is such charcoal preserved in tropical soils? (4) What is the history of peat accumulation in the forest over the past 6,000 years, and has it been affected by past fire events and environmental change? A total of 126 sampling sites will be established across seven habitat types in a study region in Indonesian Borneo, and the investigators will examine these for direct evidence of past fires from radiocarbon-dated charcoal particles in soil. Sampling data will be spectrally, chemically, and quantitatively analyzed to determine the chronological pattern of changing fire over time. The data and methods developed from this research project will have global implications for studying fire behavior studies across a wide-range of diverse ecosystems.