Mike Flannigan
Biographic Data
| ID | 6015610 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mike Flannigan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mike |
| FAMILY NAME | Flannigan |
| SIGNATURE | FLANNIGAN M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Alberta |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9970-5363 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Canada’s landscape fires spreading into uncharted territory
The extent of drought determines daily area burned in Canadian forests
Annual or seasonal wildfire burned area has been frequently and successfully estimated by models in fire research; daily area burned (DAB) over a region, however, has never been effectively modeled due to its high variability. This study identified for the first time a strong relationship between DAB and the spatial extent of fire-conducive weather conditions, especially measured by fuel aridity, in Canadian forests. Observations between 2001 and…
Mapping wildfire hazard, vulnerability, and risk to Canadian communities
One extreme fire weather event determines the extent and frequency of wildland fires
Understanding climate change impacts on wildland fire activity has been constrained by the high uncertainty embedded in the prediction of fire size (FS), annual number of fires (ANF), and annual area burned (AAB). While there has been a sustained effort to make connections between fire weather and fire activity, most studies have focused on individual parameters instead of treating them as a connected group. This study explores the intrinsic rela…
Wildfires in the Siberian taiga
Vegetation fires in the Anthropocene
Projected changes in fire size from daily spread potential in Canada over the 21st century
The broad consensus indicates that climate change will cause larger and more frequent fires, resulting in a growing annual area burned (AAB) in much of Canada. Our ability to predict future changes in fire size (FS) and AAB is limited due to the uncertainty embedded in climate change models and our inability to quantify the complex interactions between the changing environment and fire activity. In this study, we introduce a new method to predict…
Increased deep soil respiration detected despite reduced overall respiration in permafrost peat plateaus following wildfire
Wildfire in boreal permafrost peatlands causes a thickening and warming of the seasonally thawed active layer, exposing large amounts of soil carbon to microbial processes and potential release as greenhouse gases. In this study, conducted in the discontinuous permafrost zone of western Canada, we monitored soil thermal regime and soil respiration throughout the 2016 growing season at an unburned peat plateau and two nearby peat plateaus that bur…
Potential climate change impacts on fire intensity and key wildfire suppression thresholds in Canada
Much research has been carried out on the potential impacts of climate change on forest fire activity in the boreal forest. Indeed, there is a general consensus that, while change will vary regionally across the vast extent of the boreal, in general the fire environment will become more conducive to fire. Land management agencies must consider ways to adapt to these new conditions. This paper examines the impact of that changed fire environment o…
Projected changes in daily fire spread across Canada over the next century
In the face of climate change, predicting and understanding future fire regimes across Canada is a high priority for wildland fire research and management. Due in large part to the difficulties in obtaining future daily fire weather projections, one of the major challenges in predicting future fire activity is to estimate how much of the change in weather potential could translate into on-the-ground fire spread. As a result, past studies have use…
Did enhanced afforestation cause high severity peat burn in the Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire
Climate change mediated drying of boreal peatlands is expected to enhance peatland afforestation and wildfire vulnerability. The water table depth–afforestation feedback represents a positive feedback that can enhance peat drying and consolidation and thereby increase peat burn severity; exacerbating the challenges and costs of wildfire suppression efforts and potentially shifting the peatland to a persistent source of atmospheric carbon. To addr…
The spatially varying influence of humans on fire probability in North America
Humans affect fire regimes by providing ignition sources in some cases, suppressing wildfires in others, and altering natural vegetation in ways that may either promote or limit fire. In North America, several studies have evaluated the effects of society on fire activity; however, most studies have been regional or subcontinental in scope and used different data and methods, thereby making continent-wide comparisons difficult. We circumvent thes…
Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire
As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of t…
The Chinchaga Firestorm
Implications of changing climate for global wildland fire
Wildland fire is a global phenomenon, and a result of interactions between climate–weather, fuels and people. Our climate is changing rapidly primarily through the release of greenhouse gases that may have profound and possibly unexpected impacts on global fire activity. The present paper reviews the current understanding of what the future may bring with respect to wildland fire and discusses future options for research and management. To date, …
Lightning and Fires in the Northwest Territories and Responses to Future Climate Change
Lightning and fire characteristics within the Northwest Territories (NWT) jurisdiction of the Mackenzie Basin between 1994 and 1999 are examined using data from the lightning detection network operating in the NWT and from the national Large Fire Database maintained by the Canadian Forest Service. The convective storm season with associated lightning activity over this region is short but intense, with a strong peak in cloud-to-ground lightning d…
Past, Current and Future Fire Frequency in the Canadian Boreal Forest
Over the past decades, there has been an increasing interest in the development of forest management approaches that are based on an understanding of historical natural disturbance dynamics. The rationale for such an approach is that management to favor landscape compositions and stand structures similar to those of natural ecosystems should also maintain biological diversity and essential ecological functions. In fire-dominated landscapes, this …
Past, Current and Future Fire Frequency in the Canadian Boreal Forest
Over the past decades, there has been an increasing interest in the development of forest management approaches that are based on an understanding of historical natural disturbance dynamics. The rationale for such an approach is that management to favor landscape compositions and stand structures similar to those of natural ecosystems should also maintain biological diversity and essential ecological functions. In fire-dominated landscapes, this …
Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest
Bergeron, Y., P. Richard, C. Carcaillet, S. Gauthier, M. Flannigan and Y. T. Prairie 1998. Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest: A Challenge for Sustainable Forest Management. Conservation Ecology 2(2):6. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-00049-020206
Wildfires in the Siberian taiga
Past, Current and Future Fire Frequency in the Canadian Boreal Forest
Over the past decades, there has been an increasing interest in the development of forest management approaches that are based on an understanding of historical natural disturbance dynamics. The rationale for such an approach is that management to favor landscape compositions and stand structures similar to those of natural ecosystems should also maintain biological diversity and essential ecological functions. In fire-dominated landscapes, this …
Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest
Bergeron, Y., P. Richard, C. Carcaillet, S. Gauthier, M. Flannigan and Y. T. Prairie 1998. Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest: A Challenge for Sustainable Forest Management. Conservation Ecology 2(2):6. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-00049-020206
Past, Current and Future Fire Frequency in the Canadian Boreal Forest
Over the past decades, there has been an increasing interest in the development of forest management approaches that are based on an understanding of historical natural disturbance dynamics. The rationale for such an approach is that management to favor landscape compositions and stand structures similar to those of natural ecosystems should also maintain biological diversity and essential ecological functions. In fire-dominated landscapes, this …
Past, Current and Future Fire Frequency in the Canadian Boreal Forest
Over the past decades, there has been an increasing interest in the development of forest management approaches that are based on an understanding of historical natural disturbance dynamics. The rationale for such an approach is that management to favor landscape compositions and stand structures similar to those of natural ecosystems should also maintain biological diversity and essential ecological functions. In fire-dominated landscapes, this …
Implications of changing climate for global wildland fire
Wildland fire is a global phenomenon, and a result of interactions between climate–weather, fuels and people. Our climate is changing rapidly primarily through the release of greenhouse gases that may have profound and possibly unexpected impacts on global fire activity. The present paper reviews the current understanding of what the future may bring with respect to wildland fire and discusses future options for research and management. To date, …
Lightning and Fires in the Northwest Territories and Responses to Future Climate Change
Lightning and fire characteristics within the Northwest Territories (NWT) jurisdiction of the Mackenzie Basin between 1994 and 1999 are examined using data from the lightning detection network operating in the NWT and from the national Large Fire Database maintained by the Canadian Forest Service. The convective storm season with associated lightning activity over this region is short but intense, with a strong peak in cloud-to-ground lightning d…
The Chinchaga Firestorm
The spatially varying influence of humans on fire probability in North America
Humans affect fire regimes by providing ignition sources in some cases, suppressing wildfires in others, and altering natural vegetation in ways that may either promote or limit fire. In North America, several studies have evaluated the effects of society on fire activity; however, most studies have been regional or subcontinental in scope and used different data and methods, thereby making continent-wide comparisons difficult. We circumvent thes…
Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire
As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of t…
Potential climate change impacts on fire intensity and key wildfire suppression thresholds in Canada
Much research has been carried out on the potential impacts of climate change on forest fire activity in the boreal forest. Indeed, there is a general consensus that, while change will vary regionally across the vast extent of the boreal, in general the fire environment will become more conducive to fire. Land management agencies must consider ways to adapt to these new conditions. This paper examines the impact of that changed fire environment o…
Projected changes in daily fire spread across Canada over the next century
In the face of climate change, predicting and understanding future fire regimes across Canada is a high priority for wildland fire research and management. Due in large part to the difficulties in obtaining future daily fire weather projections, one of the major challenges in predicting future fire activity is to estimate how much of the change in weather potential could translate into on-the-ground fire spread. As a result, past studies have use…
Did enhanced afforestation cause high severity peat burn in the Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire
Climate change mediated drying of boreal peatlands is expected to enhance peatland afforestation and wildfire vulnerability. The water table depth–afforestation feedback represents a positive feedback that can enhance peat drying and consolidation and thereby increase peat burn severity; exacerbating the challenges and costs of wildfire suppression efforts and potentially shifting the peatland to a persistent source of atmospheric carbon. To addr…
Increased deep soil respiration detected despite reduced overall respiration in permafrost peat plateaus following wildfire
Wildfire in boreal permafrost peatlands causes a thickening and warming of the seasonally thawed active layer, exposing large amounts of soil carbon to microbial processes and potential release as greenhouse gases. In this study, conducted in the discontinuous permafrost zone of western Canada, we monitored soil thermal regime and soil respiration throughout the 2016 growing season at an unburned peat plateau and two nearby peat plateaus that bur…
Vegetation fires in the Anthropocene
Projected changes in fire size from daily spread potential in Canada over the 21st century
The broad consensus indicates that climate change will cause larger and more frequent fires, resulting in a growing annual area burned (AAB) in much of Canada. Our ability to predict future changes in fire size (FS) and AAB is limited due to the uncertainty embedded in climate change models and our inability to quantify the complex interactions between the changing environment and fire activity. In this study, we introduce a new method to predict…
One extreme fire weather event determines the extent and frequency of wildland fires
Understanding climate change impacts on wildland fire activity has been constrained by the high uncertainty embedded in the prediction of fire size (FS), annual number of fires (ANF), and annual area burned (AAB). While there has been a sustained effort to make connections between fire weather and fire activity, most studies have focused on individual parameters instead of treating them as a connected group. This study explores the intrinsic rela…
Wildfires in the Siberian taiga
Mapping wildfire hazard, vulnerability, and risk to Canadian communities
Canada’s landscape fires spreading into uncharted territory
The extent of drought determines daily area burned in Canadian forests
Annual or seasonal wildfire burned area has been frequently and successfully estimated by models in fire research; daily area burned (DAB) over a region, however, has never been effectively modeled due to its high variability. This study identified for the first time a strong relationship between DAB and the spatial extent of fire-conducive weather conditions, especially measured by fuel aridity, in Canadian forests. Observations between 2001 and…
Environmental Science (16 works) · Fire effects on ecosystems (16 works) · Geography (16 works) · Ecology (12 works) · Ecosystem (11 works) · Boreal (10 works) · Climate change (10 works) · Taiga (9 works) · Fire regime (8 works) · Geology (8 works)