NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, South Slave Region

Tags: physical sciences, wildfire, organic carbon

Objective(s): To measure the age and stock of organic carbon derived from wildfires in the Mackenzie River region, and examine long- and short-term processes controlling the size and distribution of fire-derived carbon stocks in soils.

Project Description: The objective is to measure the age and stock of organic carbon derived from wildfires (fire-derived carbon) in the Mackenzie River region, and examine long- and short-term processes controlling the size and distribution of fire-derived carbon stocks in soils. The research team will measure fire-derived carbon stocks in soils and determine its age (radiocarbon dating) at four different locations within the catchment in order to quantify and determine the fire-derived carbon pool size and distribution. The team will use a combination of different ecosystem units (e.g. high and low slope, forest, grassland and duration of permafrost) to identify the main drivers of the fate of fire-derived carbon in the Mackenzie catchment. The team will use small pits excavated by hand using a spate and sample top- and subsoils (0-100cm). In total, the team will have approx. 480 pits across the whole study area and 120 pits per sample location. This quantification and dating will help to understand the long-term processes controlling fire-derived carbon cycling. The team will use labelled fire-derived carbon (grass grown in a controlled environment with 13°C enriched atmosphere and charred) in mesocosms (metallic tubes 7 cm in diameter and 10 cm height) placed in the top- and subsoil, at the same location mentioned above, for two years in order to quantify short-term processes. The research team will install in total approximately 350 mesocosms (approximately eighty-five per sample location) in summer 2019 and collect them again in summer 2021. The team will use the gained information of the cycling of labelled fire-derived carbon within two years to determine controlling short-term processes. The research team is happy to communicate the results of this study with the local communities and the Aurora Research Institute. The team will provide all publications and reports to the Aurora Research Institute Library. The research team will also prepare posters in plain-language highlighting the outlines and the findings of this study to present them at the Aurora Research Institute. The team are also willing to include additional presentations if the communities are interested. The team will contribute on several international conferences and present our findings to an academic audience. For support during the fieldwork, recruitment for a local wildlife guide, an assistant during the sampling, and logistical support to access the sample sites via road and the Mackenzie River. The team also would like to use the facilities of the Aurora Research Institute for soil sample preparation (sieving, drying and preparation for shipping). The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from June 23, 2019 to August 9, 2019.