An alternative fire regime zonation for Canada

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doi:10.1071/WF11073

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An alternative fire regime zonation for Canada

Yan Boulanger ^A ^C, Sylvie Gauthier ^A, Philip. J. Burton ^B and Marie-Andrée Vaillancourt ^A

^A Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du PEPS, PO Box 10380, Stn Sainte-Foy, Québec, QC, G1V 4C7, Canada.
^B Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada.
^C Corresponding author. Email: yan.boulanger@rncan-nrcan.gc.ca

International Journal of Wildland Fire 21(8) 1052-1064 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF11073
Submitted: 26 May 2011 Accepted: 29 February 2012 Published: 3 August 2012





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Abstract

The ability of national and multipurpose ecological classification systems to provide an optimal zonation for a fire regime is questionable. Using wildfire (>1 ha) point data for the 1980–99 period, we defined zones with a homogeneous fire regime (HFR) across Canada and we assessed how these differ from the National Ecological Framework for Canada (NEFC) units of corresponding scale, i.e. ecoprovinces. Two HFR zonations were produced through spatially constrained clustering of (i) 1600-km² cells and (ii) the smallest units of the NEFC system, i.e. ecodistricts, using attributes for natural and anthropogenic fires. Thirty-three HFR zones were identified. HFR zonations showed smaller differences among each other than with NEFC ecoprovinces. Comparisons with ecoprovinces suggested general agreement of generalised fire regime values with HFR zones but with poor zone boundary correspondence. Ecoprovince zonation led to an overgeneralisation of fire regime estimates with less variation captured than by the HFR zonations, especially that using gridded fixed-area cells. Estimates of fire-return interval strongly differed between a priori and HFR zonations. The use of large-scale NEFC units or a zonation using its smallest units may constrain our ability to accurately quantify and portray fire regime variability across the country. The alternative empirical HFR zonation using gridded cells refines the location and nature of fire risk.

Additional keywords: boreal forest, disturbance regime, ecodistricts, ecoprovinces, ecoregions, ecozones, regionalisation, spatial clustering.

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