Fire History Reconstruction from Tree Rings in New Mexico

Tree-ring fire scar data reconstructs historical fire events in the Bonita Canyon and Manzanita Mountains of New Mexico. The dataset covers a 512-year period from 470 to -42 calendar years before present. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) compiled and archived this paleoclimatology study.

Use Cases

• Analyze fire return intervals and seasonality using dated fire scar records.
• Correlate fire event years with regional climate proxy data from tree-ring widths.
• Model historical fire frequency and spatial patterns across the study locations.
• Reconstruct long-term fire history timelines for ecological and archaeological research.

Strengths

• Covers a 512-year time period (470 to -42 BP)
• Data is curated and archived by NOAA's authoritative World Data Service for Paleoclimatology

Limitations

• Dataset is temporally stale, last updated in 1992
• Specific sample size (row count) and data granularity are unknown

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology

Collection Method

Tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) of fire scars

Time Range

470 to -42 calendar years before present (BP)

Freshness

null

Geography

Bonita Canyon and Manzanita Mountains, New Mexico, United States