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<p>The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was the most prominent warming event in the Cenozoic and serves as a geological analog for the current global warming driven by anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from burning fossil fuels. As a primary disruptor of Earth’s ecosystems, wildfire activity affects the balance of ecosystems, the global carbon cycle, and climate change. Therefore, studying the evolution and driving mechanisms of wildfires during the PETM is essential for predicting wildfire activity under global warming scenarios and for understanding the carbon cycle in the context of wildfire disturbances. Current research on wildfires during the PETM has mainly focused on the Northern Hemisphere, particularly Europe and North America, whereas studies on Chinese mainland remain limited. In this study, we analyzed black carbon (BC) concentration and carbon isotope (<i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C) in the Beigou section of the Nanyang Basin and the Xilutian section of the Fushun Basin to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of wildfires in arid/semi-arid and humid zones. We integrated these findings with those of previous studies on the paleoclimate of the research area to elucidate the driving mechanisms behind wildfire occurrences. Our results indicate that wildfire activity weakened at the onset of the PETM, with the negative carbon isotope period characterized by low wildfire activity, except for a brief resurgence in the Nanyang Basin. During the recovery phase of the PETM, wildfire activity gradually increased, returning to the pre-PETM levels. The prolonged low wildfire state was likely caused by extremely high temperatures and precipitation as well as the resulting vegetation succession. During the PETM recovery phase, increased wildfire activity transformed “short-term carbon sinks” of the biological-atmospheric carbon cycle into “long-term carbon sinks” through the burial of BC. This process of carbon sink conversion may have acted as a negative feedback mechanism, contributing to carbon sequestration and the eventual recovery from the PETM.</p>

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Spatiotemporal evolution of wildfire activity during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in China

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年1月6日

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  • Xue-Ting Wang,
  • Zuoling Chen,
  • Linlin Cui,
  • Xu Wang

摘要

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was the most prominent warming event in the Cenozoic and serves as a geological analog for the current global warming driven by anthropogenic CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. As a primary disruptor of Earth’s ecosystems, wildfire activity affects the balance of ecosystems, the global carbon cycle, and climate change. Therefore, studying the evolution and driving mechanisms of wildfires during the PETM is essential for predicting wildfire activity under global warming scenarios and for understanding the carbon cycle in the context of wildfire disturbances. Current research on wildfires during the PETM has mainly focused on the Northern Hemisphere, particularly Europe and North America, whereas studies on Chinese mainland remain limited. In this study, we analyzed black carbon (BC) concentration and carbon isotope (δ13C) in the Beigou section of the Nanyang Basin and the Xilutian section of the Fushun Basin to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of wildfires in arid/semi-arid and humid zones. We integrated these findings with those of previous studies on the paleoclimate of the research area to elucidate the driving mechanisms behind wildfire occurrences. Our results indicate that wildfire activity weakened at the onset of the PETM, with the negative carbon isotope period characterized by low wildfire activity, except for a brief resurgence in the Nanyang Basin. During the recovery phase of the PETM, wildfire activity gradually increased, returning to the pre-PETM levels. The prolonged low wildfire state was likely caused by extremely high temperatures and precipitation as well as the resulting vegetation succession. During the PETM recovery phase, increased wildfire activity transformed “short-term carbon sinks” of the biological-atmospheric carbon cycle into “long-term carbon sinks” through the burial of BC. This process of carbon sink conversion may have acted as a negative feedback mechanism, contributing to carbon sequestration and the eventual recovery from the PETM.