The role of tundra burning in carbon cycling: radio-carbon analysis of recent burns in the Noatak National Preserve, Alaska

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The primary objective for wildland fire in Noatak National Preserve (NOAT) is to maintain the area�s bio-diversity through natural wildfire while also ensuring the safety of life, property, and sensitive resources (Western Arctic Parklands FMP, 2009). Tundra fires, which are common in Noatak National Preserve, often burn into the organic soil material which may be storing ancient carbon. We propose to address this by collecting charcoal samples from the 2010 burns in NOAT for 14C analysis. The 14C data will allow us to answer the question: What is the age of organic matter (OM) consumed during a tundra fire? At 3-4 fires within NOAT six duff/soil monoliths will be collected, from 4 burned and 2 unburned adjacent areas. These samples will be 14C-aged to: 1) provide the age range of oldest burned soils (and thus oldest carbon that was emitted off the fires) and 2) estimate the age distribution of unburned organic soils that could be consumed in future fires.

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