Accelerated biomass loss in western US forestlands due to shifting fire regime

Abstract

Wildfires influence the distribution of biomass across the Earths surface and drive losses of carbon from the land surface to the atmosphere. Although the global budget between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon pools is comparatively well understood (Jones et al., 2024; MacCarthy et al., 2024), the growing size and severity of wildfires present an increasing challenge to regional carbon accounting. To quantify vegetation biomass across arid systems in the western US, we used remote sensing data to estimate the aboveground live biomass density (Mg ha-1) at 30-meter resolution across the states of Utah and Nevada annually from 2000 to 2022. Time series biomass maps showed accelerated loss of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere as a result of increasing wildfire, with annual biomass burnt increasing at 0.105 {+/-} 0.024 Mt yr-1 (mean {+/-} standard deviation) after 2015. Recent shifts in the wildfire regime show a transition from predominantly early-season fires in low-biomass grasses and shrubs to late-season fires in higher-biomass forestlands. The proportion of total biomass loss attributed to wildfires in forestland areas increased from an average of 76% per year before 2015 to 94% in the years that followed. Furthermore, we found that recent droughts contributed to increased biomass loss in forestland areas, whereas biomass in non-forestland areas appeared unaffected by drought conditions. These findings underscore the escalating impact of climate change on fire regimes, highlighting the urgent need for adaptive land management strategies to mitigate carbon loss and preserve ecosystem resilience in the face of ongoing aridification.