Boreal Forest Fire Carbon Combustion and Weather Data, 1983-2016

ORNL_CLOUD compiled this synthesis of field plot data from burned and unburned boreal forest sites across Alaska and Canada. The dataset includes plot-level characterization, derived carbon combustion estimates, and Fire Weather Index components for 1019 burned and 152 unburned sites. It covers a 33-year period from 1983 to 2016.

Use Cases

• Modeling carbon emissions from boreal wildfires using derived total carbon combusted and proportion of pre-fire carbon combusted per plot.
• Analyzing relationships between fire danger indices, like moisture and drought codes, and on-ground combustion of tree structural classes.
• Assessing post-fire soil carbon loss by comparing pre-fire and residual post-fire soil organic layer depths.
• Studying forest stand recovery by examining plot-level data on stand age, disturbance history, and tree density.
• Correlating topographic features like measured slope and aspect with assigned moisture class and combustion estimates.

Strengths

• Includes a large sample of 1019 burned sites and 152 control unburned sites for comparison.
• Integrates field measurements (tree biometry, soil depths) with derived metrics (combusted carbon pools) and external fire weather data.
• Provides a long temporal record spanning 33 years (1983-2016) across a major boreal region.

Limitations

• Specific column names and row counts are not provided by any source, limiting precise structural understanding.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2016-08-08 and 2026-03 13), creating uncertainty about recent modifications.
• Soil characteristics are stored in a separate file, requiring data linkage for complete analysis.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Synthesis of field plot characterization data, derived carbon combustion calculations, and acquired Fire Weather Index components from existing databases.

Time Range

1983-2016

Freshness

2026-03-13 17:32:59.716307

Geography

Boreal forest sites across Alaska, USA, the Northwest Territories, and Saskatchewan, Canada.