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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 18(8)

Road network density correlated with increased lightning fire incidence in the Canadian western boreal forest

M. Cecilia Arienti A D , Steven G. Cumming B , Meg A. Krawchuk C and Stan Boutin A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada. Email: stan.boutin@ualberta.ca

B Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1K 7P4, Canada. Email: stevec@berl.ab.ca

C Center for Fire Research and Outreach, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Email: megk@nature.berkeley.edu

D Corresponding author. Email: marienti@ualberta.ca

International Journal of Wildland Fire 18(8) 970-982 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF08011
Submitted: 21 January 2008  Accepted: 3 April 2009   Published: 9 December 2009

Abstract

This paper quantifies the influence of anthropogenic linear disturbances on fire ignition frequency in the boreal forests of western Canada. Specifically, we tested if linear features increase the frequency of lightning fires, and whether this relationship is affected by spatial resolution. We considered fires that ignited between 1995 and 2002 within a ~67 000 km2 region of boreal mixed-wood forest in north-eastern Alberta where linear features are highly abundant and spatially heterogeneous. We constructed Poisson, Negative Binomial and Zero-Inflated Poisson models at two spatial resolutions (~10 000 and ~2400 ha), including covariates for linear feature densities, forest composition, weather–lightning indices and geography. We found a positive association between lightning fire frequency and road density; this association was consistent at both spatial resolutions. We suggest this occurs owing to increased availability of flammable fine fuels near roads. The effect was attributable neither to increased detectability of fires proximal to roads by human observers, nor to increased lightning strikes due to metallic infrastructure alongside roads or the topographic characteristics of road location. Our results suggest that, in the face of projected road developments in the region, the potential exists for important changes to the regional fire regime. Further research should elucidate the precise mechanisms in order to develop methods for mitigation.


Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Chair in Integrated Landscape Management; the Canada Research Chairs program; Alberta SRD Forest Protection Division; and Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., who also provided AVI and linear feature coverages. Boreal Ecosystems Research Ltd compiled a multiyear consistent version of the Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (Alberta SRD) fire history archives. We thank Mike Flannigan (Canadian Forest Service) for providing us with weather data, Nadele Flynn for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) assistance and Cordy Tymstra (Alberta SRD) for valuable discussion. We thank Erin Bayne, Vic Adamowicz, Dave Latham, Craig Aumann and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Finally, we thank Alberta SRD for publishing their fire archives on the worldwide web.


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