Biomass burning and its inter-relationships with the climate system : [international workshop, held in Wengen, Switzerland, in September 1998

This volume contains a selection of scientific papers which were presented at an international workshop held in Wengen, Switzerland, in September 1998. A number of state-of-the-art papers are presented, which discuss scientific, technological and socio-economic issues related to large forest fires which occur both in the tropics and in the extra-tropical regions. The book comprises some of the most recent research conducted in the context of the large forest fires which occurred in South-East Asia, Australia, Brazil and Africa in late 1997 and early 1998; while essentially due to human interference, these particular fires appear to have been enhanced by the particularly strong El Niño episode which prevailed at that time. This interdisciplinary volume addresses a number of topics, in particular the contribution to climatic change by the greenhouse gases and aerosols emitted by large forest fires, the monitoring of fires both during and after combustion through satellite remote-sensing techniques, and numerical studies of the perturbation to the climate system using general circulation climate models. Biomass Burning And Climate: An Introduction / John L. Innes -- Global Biomass Burning: A Case Study Of The Gaseous And Particulate Emissions Released To The Atmosphere During The 1997 Fires In Kalimantan And Sumatra, Indonesia / Joel S. Levine -- Modelling The Effect Of Landuse Changes On Global Biomass Emissions / Sue A. Ferguson, David V. Sandberg And Roger Ottmar -- Direct Effects Of Fire On The Boreal Forest Carbon Budget / Eric S. Kasischke, Brian J. Stocks And Kathy O'neill / [et Al.] -- The Impact Of Biomass Burning On The Global Budget Of Ozone And Ozone Precursors / Claire Granier, Jean-francois Muller And Guy Brasseur -- Impact Of The 1997 Indonesian Fires On Tropospheric Ozone And Its Precursors / D. A. Hauglustaine, G. P. Brasseur And J. S. Levine -- The Relationship Between Area Burned By Wildland Fire In Canada And Circulation Anomalies In The Mid-troposphere / W. R. Skinner, B. J. Stocks And D. L. Martell / [et Al.] --^ Underestimation Of Gcm-calculated Short-wave Atmospheric Absorption In Areas Affected By Biomass Burning / Martin Wild -- Wildland Fire Detection From Space: Theory And Application / Donald R. Cahoon, Jr., Brian J. Stocks And Martin E. Alexander / [et Al.] -- Climate And Vegetation As Driving Factors In Global Fire Activity / Edward Dwyer, Jean-marie Gregoire And Jose M. C. Pereira -- Modelling The Impact Of Vegetation Fires, Detected From Noaa-avhrr Data, On Tropospheric Chemistry In Tropical Africa / Daniela Stroppiana, Pietro Alessandro Brivio And Jean-marie Gregoire -- A Rule-based System For Burned Area Mapping In Temperate And Tropical Regions Using Noaa/avhrr Imagery / Jose M. C. Pereira, Maria J. P. Vasconcelos And Adelia M. Sousa -- Fire Regime Sensitivity To Global Climate Change: An Australian Perspective / Geoffrey J. Cary And John C. G. Banks -- The Interaction Between Forest Fires And Human Activity In Southern Switzerland / Marco Conedera And Willy Tinner --^ Indirect And Long-term Effects Of Fire On The Boreal Forest Carbon Budget / Eric S. Kasischke, Kathy O'neill And Laura L. Bourgeau-chavez / [et Al.] -- Sustainable Forestry As A Source Of Bio-energy For Fossil Fuel Substitution / Murari Lal And Roma Singh -- Managing Smoke In United States Wildlands And Forests: A Challenge For Science And Regulations / Douglas G. Fox, Allen R. Riebau And Richard W. Fisher -- Area Burned Reconstruction And Measurement: A Comparison Of Methods / Chris Larsen -- Interactions Between Biomass Burning And Climate: Conclusions Drawn From The Workshop / John L. Innes, Martin Beniston And Michel Verstraete. Edited By John L. Innes, Martin Beniston And Michel M. Verstraete. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Preliminaries......Page 1 Table of contents......Page 6 List of Contributors......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Biomass burning and climate: an introduction......Page 14 Global Biomass Burning......Page 28 Modelling the Effect of Landuse Changes on Global Biomass Emissions......Page 46 Direct effects of fire on the boreal forest carbon budge......Page 64 The impact of biomass burning on the global budget of ozone and Ozone Precursors......Page 82 Impact of the 1997 Indonesian fires on tropospheric ozone and its Precursors......Page 100 The Relationship Between Area Burned by Wildland Fire in Canada and Circulation Anomalies in the Mid-Troposphere......Page 114 Underestimation of GCM-calculated short-wave atmospheric absorbtion in Areas affected by biomass burning......Page 140 Wildland Fire Detection from Space......Page 164 limate and vegetation as driving factors in global fire activity......Page 184 Modelling the impact of vegetation fires, detected from NOAA–AVHRR Data, on Troposheric Chemistry in Tropical Africa......Page 206 A rule-based system for burned area mapping in temperate and Tropical Regions Using NOAA/AVHRR Imagery......Page 228 Fire regime sensitivity to global climate change......Page 246 The interaction between forest fires and human activity in southern Switzerland......Page 260 Indirect and Long-Term Effects of Fire on the Boreal Forest Carbon Budget......Page 276 Sustainable forestry as a source of bio-energy for fossil fuel Substitution......Page 294 Managing Smoke in United States Wildlands and Forests......Page 312 Area burned reconstruction and measurement: a comparison of methods......Page 334 Interactions between biomass burning and climate......Page 354 Abbreviations and Acronyms......Page 360 Index......Page 364 JOHN L. INNES University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada The interactions between biomass burning and climate have been brought into focus by a number of recent events. Firstly, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and, more recently, the Kyoto Protocol, have drawn the attention of policy makers and others to the importance of biomass burning in relation to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Secondly, the use of prescribed fires has become a major management tool in some countries; with for example the area with fuel treatments (which include prescribed burns and mechanical treatments) having increased on US National Forest System lands from 123,000 ha in 1985 to 677,000 ha in 1998. Thirdly, large numbers of forest fires in Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and elsewhere in 1997 and 1998 received unprecedented media attention. Consequently, it is appropriate that one of the Wengen Workshops on Global Change Research be devoted to the relationships between biomass burning and climate. This volume includes many of the papers presented at the workshop, but is also intended to act as a contribution to the state of knowledge on the int- relationships between biomass burning and climate change. Previous volumes on biomass burning (e. g. Goldammer 1990,Levine 1991a, Crutzen and Goldammer 1993, Levine 1996a, 1996b, Van Wilgen et al. 1997) have stressed various aspects of the biomass–climate issue, and provide a history of the development of our understanding of the many complex relationships that are involved. "This interdisciplinary volume addresses a number of topics, in particular the contribution to climatic change by the greenhouse gases and aerosol emitted by large forest fires, the monitoring of fires both during and after the combustion through satellite remote-sensing techniques, and numerical studies of the perturbation to the climate system using general circulation climate models."--Jacket