Previous Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) modulates the lightning-ignited fire regime in the boreal forest of Northeast China

Lightning-ignited fire is sensitive to climatic change and responsible for large fires in boreal forests. In addition to global-warming caused fire increase, large-scale climate oscillations have significantly contributed to fire variability. However, the leading climate oscillation driving lightning-ignited fire and the mechanisms connecting regional and large-scale climate in the boreal forest of Northeast China, the most fire-prone biome of China, are still unclear. By compositing fire, climate, and atmospheric data, we found that the previous Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) was significantly coherent with the May to August temperature–evapotranspiration variability and lightning-ignited fire occurrence. These connections were valid at both the interannual and multidecadal time scales. Different from previous viewpoints, we found no connection of fire occurrence with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation. A warm AMO was followed by high sea level pressure and geopotential height over the study region. We assume these atmospheric anomalies are associated with descending atmospheric motion, producing adiabatic warming and less precipitation on the land surface, both of which favour high fuel aridity and lightning ignition. Therefore, we believe that the winter AMO could be a promising predictor for lightning-ignited fire occurrences in the following summer

Arctic oscillation · Atlantic multidecadal oscillation · Atmospheric sciences · Boreal · Climatology · Ecosystem · Fire regime · Geography · Hindcast · Lightning (connector · North Atlantic oscillation · Northern Hemisphere · Pacific decadal oscillation · Sea surface temperature · Taiga · Climate variability and models · Environmental Science · Fire effects on ecosystems · Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics · Geology

• Observed Impacts of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Wildfire in California

  Open Access•Park Williams, John T Abatzoglou et al.•Earth's Future•2019

  Incluir item

• The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and its relation to rainfall and river flows in the continental U.S.

  Open Access•David B Enfield, Alberto M Mestas‐Nuñez et al.•Geophysical Research Letters•2001

  Incluir item

• Implications of changing climate for global wildland fire

  Mike Flannigan, Mike D Flannigan et al.•International Journal of Wildland…•2009

  Incluir item

• The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification

  Open Access•James A Screen, Ian Simmonds•Nature•2010

  Incluir item

• Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity

  Open Access•A L Westerling, Hugo G Hidalgo et al.•Science•2006

  Incluir item

• An oscillation in the global climate system of period 65–70 years

  Open Access•Michael E Schlesinger, Navin Ramankutty•Nature•1994

  Incluir item

• VII. Note on regression and inheritance in the case of two parents

  Open Access•Karl Pearson•Proceedings of the Royal Society…•1895

  Incluir item

• Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature, Version 5 (ERSSTv5)

  Open Access•Boyin Huang, Peter Thorne et al.•Journal of Climate•2017

  Incluir item

• More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests

  Open Access•Elizabeth Hoy, Merritt R Turetsky et al.•Environmental Research Letters•2016

  Incluir item

• Amplified summer warming in Europe–West Asia and Northeast Asia after the mid-1990s

  Open Access•Xiaowei Hong, Riyu Lu et al.•Environmental Research Letters•2017

  Incluir item