Macro-charcoal accumulation in floodplain wetlands: problems and prospects for reconstruction of fire regimes and environmental conditions

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dc.contributor.authorGraves, BPen_AU
dc.contributor.authorRalph, TJen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHesse, PPen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWestaway, KEen_AU
dc.contributor.authorKobayashi, Ten_AU
dc.contributor.authorGadd, PSen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMazumder, Den_AU
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-28T21:38:32Zen_AU
dc.date.available2021-06-28T21:38:32Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2019-10-24en_AU
dc.date.statistics2021-06-17en_AU
dc.description.abstractFloodplain wetland ecosystems respond dynamically to flooding, fire and geomorphological processes. We employed a combined geomorphological and environmental proxy approach to assess allochthonous and autochthonous macro-charcoal accumulation in the Macquarie Marshes, Australia, with implications for the reconstruction of fire regimes and environmental conditions in large, open-system wetlands. After accounting for fluvial macro-charcoal flux (1.05 ± 0.32 no. cm-2 a-1), autochthonous macro-charcoal in ~1 m deep sediment profiles spanning ~1.7 ka were highly variable and inconsistent between cores and wetlands (concentrations from 0 to 438 no. cm-3, mean accumulation rates from 0 to 3.86 no. cm-2 a-1). A positive correlation existed between the number of recent fires, satellite-observed ignition points, and macro-charcoal concentrations at the surface of the wetlands. Sedimentology, geochemistry, and carbon stable isotopes (δ13C range -15 to -25 ‰) were similar in all cores from both wetlands and varied little with depth. Application of macro-charcoal and other environmental proxy techniques is inherently difficult in large, dynamic wetland systems due to variations in charcoal sources, sediment and charcoal deposition rates, and taphonomic processes. Major problems facing fire history reconstruction using macro-charcoal records in these wetlands include: (1) spatial and temporal variations in fire activity and ash and charcoal products within the wetlands, (2) variations in allochthonous inputs of charcoal from upstream sources, (3) tendency for geomorphic dynamism to affect flow dispersal and sediment and charcoal accumulation, and (4) propensity for post-depositional modification and/or destruction of macro-charcoal by flooding and taphonomic processes. Recognition of complex fire-climate-hydrology-vegetation interactions is essential. High-resolution, multifaceted approaches with reliable geochronologies are required to assess spatial and temporal patterns of fire and to reconstruct in order to interpret wetland fire regimes. © 2019 Graves et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproductionin any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_AU
dc.identifier.articlenumbere0224011en_AU
dc.identifier.citationGraves, B. P., Ralph, T. J., Hesse, P. P., Westaway, K. E., Kobayashi, T., Gadd, P. S., & Mazumder, D. (2019). Macro-charcoal accumulation in floodplain wetlands: problems and prospects for reconstruction of fire regimes and environmental conditions. PloS one, 14(10), e0224011. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224011en_AU
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203en_AU
dc.identifier.issue10en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitlePloS oneen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224011en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/10922en_AU
dc.identifier.volume14en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherPLOSen_AU
dc.subjectCharcoalen_AU
dc.subjectFloodsen_AU
dc.subjectFiresen_AU
dc.subjectWetlandsen_AU
dc.subjectEcosystemsen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.titleMacro-charcoal accumulation in floodplain wetlands: problems and prospects for reconstruction of fire regimes and environmental conditionsen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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