Authors
Nathan C Dadap, Alexander R Cobb, Alison M Hoyt, Charles F Harvey, Andrew F Feldman, Eun-Soon Im, Alexandra G Konings
Publication date
2022/7/1
Journal
Environmental Research Letters
Volume
17
Issue
7
Pages
074026
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Description
When organic peat soils are sufficiently dry, they become flammable. In Southeast Asian peatlands, widespread deforestation and associated drainage create dry conditions that, when coupled with El Niño-driven drought, result in catastrophic fire events that release large amounts of carbon and deadly smoke to the atmosphere. While the effects of anthropogenic degradation on peat moisture and fire risk have been extensively demonstrated, climate change impacts to peat flammability are poorly understood. These impacts are likely to be mediated primarily through changes in soil moisture. Here, we used neural networks (trained on data from the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite) to model soil moisture as a function of climate, degradation, and location. The neural networks were forced with regional climate model projections for 1985–2005 and 2040–2060 climate under RCP8.5 forcing to predict …
Total citations
202220232024325
Scholar articles
NC Dadap, AR Cobb, AM Hoyt, CF Harvey… - Environmental Research Letters, 2022