Forest fires and vegetation during the Holocene in central Yakutia, eastern Siberia

Abstract

In order to investigate the relationship between vegetation change and fire history in the Siberian boreal forest, fossil pollen and charcoal from two lakes in central Yakutia, eastern Siberia, were analyzed. The vegetation change inferred from the pollen analysis was similar to that found in previous research in the region. Open larch forest covered this region during the late Glacial and early Holocene periods. Later, during the mid-Holocene, Scots pine expanded its range. The low levels of charcoal in the lake deposits represent surface forest fires, suggesting that the present-day surface fire regime has been taking place since at least 6,500 calibrated years before the present (cal yr BP) and that stand-replacing fire has not occurred during the Holocene. Larch and Scots pine forests, which are characterized by surface fire regimes, have been predominant since the early Holocene.

Keywords:

• Charcoal
• Eastern Siberia
• Forest fire history
• Pollen
• Vegetation history

Acknowledgments

This research was financed by a Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant of The Japan Science Society, and a Research Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists. We thank A. Fedorov for supporting the fieldwork, and H. Takahara for providing helpful comments regarding the charcoal measurements. We also thank R. Hatano and F. Takakai for helping with LOI analysis, and L. Lopez and two anonymous reviewers for thoughtful comments on this manuscript.