High-resolution data reveal a surge of biomass loss from temperate and Atlantic pine forests, contextualizing the 2022 fire season distinctiveness in France
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Published:2023-09-20
Issue:18
Volume:20
Page:3803-3825
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ISSN:1726-4189
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Container-title:Biogeosciences
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Biogeosciences
Author:
Vallet LilianORCID, Schwartz MartinORCID, Ciais PhilippeORCID, van Wees DaveORCID, de Truchis AurelienORCID, Mouillot FlorentORCID
Abstract
Abstract. The frequency and intensity of summer droughts and heat
waves in Western Europe have been increasing, raising concerns about the
emergence of fire hazard in less fire-prone areas. This exposure of
old-growth forests hosting unadapted tree species may cause
disproportionately large biomass losses compared to those observed in
frequently burned Mediterranean ecosystems. Therefore, analyzing fire
seasons from the perspective of exposed burned areas alone is insufficient;
we must also consider impacts on biomass loss. In this study, we focus on
the exceptional 2022 summer fire season in France and use very
high-resolution (10 m) satellite data to calculate the burned area, tree
height at the national level, and subsequent ecological impact based on
biomass loss during fires. Our high-resolution semi-automated detection
estimated 42 520 ha of burned area, compared to the 66 393 ha estimated by
the European automated remote sensing detection system (EFFIS), including
48 330 ha actually occurring in forests. We show that Mediterranean forests
had a lower biomass loss than in previous years, whereas there was a drastic
increase in burned area and biomass loss over the Atlantic pine forests and
temperate forests. High biomass losses in the Atlantic pine forests were
driven by the large burned area (28 600 ha in 2022
vs. 494 ha yr−1 in
2006–2021 period) but mitigated by a low exposed tree biomass mostly located
on intensive management areas. Conversely, biomass loss in temperate forests
was abnormally high due to both a 15-fold increase in burned area compared
to previous years (3300 ha in 2022 vs. 216 ha in the 2006–2021 period) and
a high tree biomass of the forests which burned. Overall, the biomass loss
(i.e., wood biomass dry weight) was 0.25 Mt in Mediterranean forests and
shrublands, 1.74 Mt in the Atlantic pine forest, and 0.57 Mt in temperate
forests, amounting to a total loss of 2.553 Mt, equivalent to a 17 %
increase of the average natural mortality of all French forests, as reported
by the national inventory. A comparison of biomass loss between our
estimates and global biomass/burned areas data indicates that higher
resolution improves the identification of small fire patches, reduces the
commission errors with a more accurate delineation of the perimeter of each
fire, and increases the biomass affected. This study paves the way for the
development of low-latency, high-accuracy assessment of biomass losses and
fire patch contours to deliver a more informative impact-based
characterization of each fire year.
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Subject
Earth-Surface Processes,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
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