Climate change lengthens southeastern USA lightning-ignited fire seasons.
Glob Chang Biol
; 25(10): 3562-3569, 2019 10.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31297944
ABSTRACT
Trends in average annual or seasonal precipitation are insufficient for detecting changes in the climatic fire season, especially in regions where the fire season is defined by wet-dry seasonal cycles and lightning activity. Using an extensive dataset (1897-2017) in the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States, we examined changes in annual dry season length, total precipitation, and (since 1945) the seasonal distribution of thunder-days as a correlate of lightning activity. We found that across the entire region, the dry season has lengthened by as much as 156 days (130% over 120 years), both starting earlier and ending later with less total precipitation. Less rainfall over a longer dry season, with no change in seasonal thunderstorm patterns, likely increases both the potential for lightning-ignited wildfires and fire severity. Global climate change could be having a hitherto undetected influence on fire regimes by altering the synchrony of climatic seasonal parameters.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Wildfires
/
Lightning
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
Glob Chang Biol
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article