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Updated 11 October, 2003

Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program Final Report, July 2003

Figure 6-5
from Annex C
(Graphics and Photography Source Information)

Figure 6-5: Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), climatic variation, and fire disturbance play substantial roles in the historical carbon dynamics of Alaska. Analyses of stand-age distribution in Alaska indicate that fire has likely become less frequent compared to the first half of the 20^th century. The contemporary stand-age distribution of forest in interior Alaska is reproduced by assuming that fire return interval (FRI) prior to 1950 was 55% of FRI since 1950. Logging associated with the gold rush appears to be responsible for the discrepancy between observed and simulated for stands that are approximately 100 years old. Application of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model indicates that regrowth under a less frequent fire regime leads to substantial carbon storage in the state between 1980 and 1989. Source: David McGuire and Dave Verbyla, University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

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