Colorado Fire History Reconstruction from Tree Rings

Tree-ring data from Colorado reconstructs fire events over a 581-year period from 537 to 44 calendar years before present. The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information archives this fire history study for paleoclimatology research. Data was last updated in the repository in 1994.

Use Cases

• Analyze the frequency of fire events recorded in tree-ring parameters to identify periods of heightened fire activity.
• Correlate fire history timelines with other paleoclimate proxies to study climate-driven fire regimes.
• Map the geographic location of fire scars to understand spatial patterns of historical burns in Colorado.
• Use the calendar years before present (BP) data to place fire events into a precise chronological framework.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range of 581 calendar years (537 to -44 BP).
• Provides geospatially specific data for Colorado, United States.
• Archived by the authoritative NOAA NCEI World Data Service for Paleoclimatology.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with a last update recorded in 1994.
• The specific sample size (number of tree cores or sites) is unknown from the description.
• Limited to a single geographic region (Colorado), reducing broad applicability.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Data derived from tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) to identify fire scars and events.

Time Range

537 to -44 calendar years before present (BP).

Freshness

1994-01-01

Geography

Colorado, United States Of America.