Frequency and Characteristics of Arctic Tundra Fires

Abstract

Characteristics of over 50 tundra fires, located primarily in the western Arctic, are summarized. In general, only recent records were available and the numbers of fires were closely related to the accessibility of the area. Most of them covered areas of less than one square kilometre (in contrast to forest fires which are frequently larger) but three tundra fires on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska burned, in aggregate, 16,000 square kilometres of cottongrass tussocks. Though tundra fires can occur as early as May, most of them break out in July and early August. Biomass decreases, and so fires are more easily stopped by discontinuities in vegetation, with distance northward.