As the boreal forests of Alaska recover from wildfires, they may shift from containing mostly coniferous trees to a deciduous-coniferous mix – and this change could ultimately offset some of the carbon emitted during the fires.
Climate change is making wildfires more frequent and intense in certain parts of the world, such as the boreal forests of the Arctic. These forests typically act as carbon sinks, but if fires burn deep into their soil, they could begin to release more carbon into the atmosphere than they store through new wood growth, accelerating the effects of climate change.
Michelle Mack at Northern Arizona University and her team assessed the Alaskan boreal forest, which is experiencing more frequent fires, to see how the blazes are affecting forest recovery and carbon storage.