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There is little doubt in the scientific community that if the current patterns of climate warming continue, there will be dramatic changes in the distribution of vegetation and forest cover throughout the boreal region. Most research has concentrated on predicting how rises in air temperature will (1) cause shifts in vegetation cover and the carbon balance in the terrestrial biome (Smith and Shugart 1993) or (2) change rates of soil respiration (Townsend et al. 1992; Randerson et al. 1996; Thompson et al. 1997). Recently, more sophisticated biogeochemical cycling models have been developed that actually model the processes responsible for carbon storage in vegetation to assess changes in the terrestrial carbon budget...
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For the first time, a spatial and monthly inventory has been constructed for carbonaceous particles emitted by boreal and temperate wildfires in forests, shrublands, and grasslands, with burned area data statistics, fuel load maps, fire characteristics, and particle emission factors. The time period considered is 1960?1997, and an important year-to-year variability was observed. On average, boreal and temperate vegetation fires represent 4% of global biomass burning, but during extreme years, their contribution may reach 12%, producing 9% and 20% of black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM), respectively, emitted by worldwide fires. The North American component of the boreal forest fires (Canada and...
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