Fire history and secondary vegetation succession in the forest-tundra near Churchill, Manitoba

Concerns about increasing CO2 in the global atmosphere and how this may affect climatic patterns and ultimately the structure, composition and distribution of the northern boreal forest prompted an examination of secondary succession in a segment of forest-tundra south of Churchill, Manitoba. Fire is the main disturbance in the boreal forest and climate change is expected to have an impact on the frequency of fire and the area burned in these forests. By reconstructing the fire history of these forests, we can evaluate the potential effects a change in fire activity will have upon this landscape. In addition to our lack of knowledge on fire in the forest-tundra of Manitoba, little is also known about the response of the vegetation and forest stand dynamics following fire.;The fire history of the Churchill, Manitoba forest-tundra was reconstructed following the determination of the time-since-last-fire (TSLF) dates from 119 locations using dendroecological methods. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).