Wildfires are the most prevalent natural disturbance in Canadian boreal forests, which could cause postfire land surface temperature change (ΔLST) through biophysical processes. Here, we used multiple remote sensing products and spatial GIS analysis methods to investigate the fire-induced daytime and nighttime LST change over Canada’s boreal forest from 2004 to 2017. We further examined the differences of ΔLST among three forest types. We found a pronounced asymmetry in diurnal ΔLST, characterized by daytime warming in contrast to nighttime cooling. The differences in the effects of forest fires on diurnal surface temperature were also exhibited among three forest types. The effect of wildfires on diurnal surface temperature is more significant in evergreen forest areas than in deciduous forest areas. These results also revealed that species composition has a strong influence on the climate effects of fire in boreal regions.

Zhongliang Zhou, Zhaoyu Wang. Effects of Forest Fires on Diurnal Land Surface Temperature in Boreal Forests. Academic Journal of Environment & Earth Science (2022) Vol. 4 Issue 1: 38-41. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJEE.2022.040108.

[1] Bonan, G. B. (2008). Forests and climate change: Forcings, feedbacks, and the climate benefits of forests. Science, 320(5882), 1444–1449.

[2] Hayes, D. J., et al. (2011). "Is the northern high-latitude land-based CO2sink weakening?" Global Biogeochemical Cycles 25(3): n/a-n/a.

[3] Liu, H., & Randerson, J. T. (2008). Interannual variability of surface energy exchange depends on stand age in a boreal forest fire chronosequence. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, G01006. 

[4] Liu, Z., Ballantyne, A. P., & Cooper, L. A. (2018). Increases in land surface temperature in response to fire in Siberian boreal forests and their attribution to biophysical processes. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 6485–6494. 

[5] Liu, Z., et al. (2019). "Biophysical feedback of global forest fires on surface temperature." Nat Commun 10(1): 214.

[6] Randerson, J. T., Liu, H., Flanner, M. G., Chambers, S. D., Jin, Y., Hess, P. G., et al. (2006). The impact of boreal forest fire on climate warming. Science, 314, 1130–1132. 

[7] Rogers, B. M., Randerson, J. T., & Bonan, G. B. (2013). High-latitude cooling associated with landscape changes from North American boreal forest fires. Biogeosciences, 10, 699–718. 

[8] Rogers, B. M., Soja, A. J., Goulden, M. L., & Randerson, J. T. (2015). Influence of tree species on continental differences in boreal fires and climate feedbacks. Nature Geoscience, 8, 228–234. 

[9] Schultz, N. M., Lawrence, P. J., & Lee, X. (2017). Global satellite data highlights the diurnal asymmetry of the surface temperature response to deforestation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 122, 903–917.

[10] Stocks, B. J., et al. (2002). "Large forest fires in Canada, 1959–1997." Journal of Geophysical Research 108(D1).

[11] Veraverbeke, S., et al. (2017). "Lightning as a major driver of recent large fire years in North American boreal forests." Nature Climate Change 7(7): 529-534.

[12] Wotton, Mike & Nock, Charles & Flannigan, Mike. (2010). Forest fire occurrence and climate change in Canada. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 19. 253-271. 

[13] Wotton, Mike & Flannigan, Mike & Marshall, G. (2017). Potential climate change impacts on fire intensity and key wildfire suppression thresholds in Canada. Environmental Research Letters. 12. 095003. 

[14] Zhao, J., et al. (2021). "Fire Regime Impacts on Postfire Diurnal Land Surface Temperature Change Over North American Boreal Forest." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 126 (23).