近日，荷兰阿姆斯特丹自由大学Max J. van Gerrevink团队报道了北美北方森林火灾对气候的影响。相关论文于2026年3月3日发表在《自然—地球科学》杂志上。
北方森林生物群区正经历快速变暖，深刻影响着区域扰动机制与全球气候。北方森林火灾强度加剧，在时空尺度上同时引发气候变暖（正效应）与气候冷却（负效应）。
研究组基于2001至2019年间阿拉斯加与加拿大西部火灾数据，通过整合燃烧释放的温室气体和气溶胶排放、植被恢复、火灾诱发冻土融化产生的温室气体排放以及70年期间地表反照率变化，采用综合净辐射强迫指标评估了北方火灾的气候效应。研究组发现，阿拉斯加火灾平均贡献了净气候变暖效应（每单位燃烧面积0.35±4.66 W·m-2，标准差），而加拿大火灾则呈现净冷却效应（每单位燃烧面积-2.88±4.17 W·m-2，标准差）。
气候变暖型火灾优先发生在干燥、高海拔、陡坡且具有高火灾前黑云杉覆盖度的冻土景观区，单位面积碳燃烧量更高。气候冷却型火灾则受春季积雪暴露时间延长驱动，更频繁地出现在靠近树线的大陆性区域。这种组分与净辐射强迫的精细化刻画，深化了研究组对火灾对高纬度气候生物地球物理影响的理解，并凸显了在富含碳的冻土区优先实施火灾管理以遏制长期变暖的必要性。
附：英文原文
Title: Climate impacts from North American boreal forest fires
Author: van Gerrevink, Max J., Veraverbeke, Sander, Cooperdock, Sol, Potter, Stefano, Zhong, Qirui, Moubarak, Michael, Virkkala, Anna-Maria, Goetz, Scott J., Mack, Michelle C., Randerson, James T., Schutgens, Nick, Turetsky, Merritt R., van der Werf, Guido R., Rogers, Brendan M.
Issue&Volume: 2026-03-03
Abstract: The boreal forest biome is warming rapidly, impacting disturbance regimes and global climate. Boreal forest fires have intensified, initiating both climate warming (positive) and climate cooling (negative) impacts across spatial and temporal scales. Here we estimate climate impacts from boreal fires in Alaska and western Canada between 2001 and 2019 using integrated net radiative forcing metrics combining greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions from combustion, vegetation recovery, greenhouse gas emissions from fire-induced permafrost thaw and changes in surface albedo over a 70-year period. We find that fires across Alaska contributed, on average, to net climate warming (0.35±4.66Wm2 of burned area; one standard deviation), while fires across Canada contributed to net cooling (2.88±4.17Wm2 of burned area; one standard deviation). Climate-warming fires occur preferentially in dry, high-elevation, steep permafrost landscapes with high pre-fire black spruce coverage and combust more carbon per unit area. Climate-cooling fires are driven by longer spring snow exposure and occur more frequently in continental regions near the treeline. This fine-scale characterization of component and net radiative forcing advances our understanding of the biogeophysical impacts of fires on high-latitude climate and highlights the need to prioritize fire management in carbon-rich permafrost regions to curb long-term warming.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-026-01940-3