BRS Jennifer Baltzer: A changing boreal landscape: the role of fire and permafrost thaw in modifying forest composition and function

host: UBC-O 

Title: A changing boreal landscape: the role of fire and permafrost thaw in modifying forest composition and function

Abstract: The boreal forest forms a circumpolar belt between 45˚ and 70˚N and is the second largest forested biome globally. It is important in climate regulation and the global carbon cycle and is one of the few remaining terrestrial biomes where large-scale ecological processes are largely unimpeded. The boreal biome is floristically simple but forest dynamics and ecosystem processes arise from complex interactions amongst a range of factors including climate, physiography, permafrost, large natural disturbances, and species ecology. Boreal forests occupy latitudes that are warming 3-4 times faster than the global average; this rapid warming has already been shown to be having marked impacts on both the wildfire regime and rates of permafrost thaw. Here, I will overview some recent efforts to understand the impacts of wildfire, permafrost thaw, and their interaction on the ecological resilience of North American boreal forests. These changes will be discussed in the context of the current and future functioning of high latitude boreal forests.

Meeting Recording:
https://ubc.zoom.us/rec/share/uK7TM3_gsb-h_LGp0h_OGOkGGjKJ-lYTMPoJIA-tB…

Access Passcode: This presentation is available to the BRC community at UBC, but not a wider audience. Please contact Katie (katie.beall@ubc.ca)  for the passcode.