McWethy Fire Data from Dukes Tarn, New Zealand - IMPD NZDKT001 McWethy, D.; Wilmshurst, J.M.; Whitlock, C.; Wood, J.R.; McGlone, M.S. McWethy, D. Wilmshurst, J.M. Whitlock, C. Wood, J.R. McGlone, M.S. earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,fire history|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (age at sample end,null,null,calendar year before present,null,fire history|paleolimnology,null,null,N,bottom of sample) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,fire history|paleolimnology,null,null,N,middle of sample) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (age at sample start,null,null,calendar year before present,null,fire history|paleolimnology,null,null,N,top of sample) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (charcoal,sediment,null,count,null,fire history|paleolimnology,null,null,N,size fraction >125 microns) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (volume,sediment,null,milliliter,null,fire history|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history (Dukes Tarn>LATITUDE -44.96418>LONGITUDE 168.49269) Human-caused forest transitions are documented worldwide, especially during periods when land use by dense agriculturally-based populations intensified. However, the rate at which prehistoric human activities led to permanent deforestation is poorly resolved. In the South Island, New Zealand, the arrival of Polynesians c. 750 years ago resulted in dramatic forest loss and conversion of nearly half of native forests to open vegetation. This transformation, termed the Initial Burning Period, is documented in pollen and charcoal records, but its speed has been poorly constrained. High-resolution chronologies developed with a series of AMS radiocarbon dates from two lake sediment cores suggest the shift from forest to shrubland occurred within decades rather than centuries at drier sites. We examine two sites representing extreme examples of the magnitude of human impacts: a drier site that was inherently more vulnerable to human-set fires and a wetter, less burnable site. The astonishing rate of deforestation at the hands of small transient populations resulted from the intrinsic vulnerability of the native flora to fire and from positive feedbacks in post-fire vegetation recovery that increased landscape flammability. Spatially targeting burning in highly-flammable seral vegetation in forests rarely experiencing fire was sufficient to create an alternate fire-prone stable state. The New Zealand example illustrates how seemingly stable forest ecosystems can experience rapid and permanent conversions. Forest loss in New Zealand is among the fastest ecological transitions documented in the Holocene; yet equally rapid transitions can be expected in present-day regions wherever positive feedbacks support alternate fire-inhibiting, fire-prone stable states. STUDY NOTES: ;Keywords, Deforestation, human impacts, fire, positive feedbacks, tipping points, paleoecology, forest transitions, land-use change, alternate stable states; Collectors, Janet Wilmshurst, Matt Mcglone, David McWethy, Cathy Whitlock; Site size (ha), 1.5; Contact person, "David McWethy, Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University,dmcwethy@montana.edu"; Analysis method, raw count charcoal particles to charcoal influx; Sample storage location, Montana State University MT; NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : McWethy, D. Investigator : Wilmshurst, J.M. Investigator : Whitlock, C. Investigator : Wood, J.R. Investigator : McGlone, M.S. 2014-09-10 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/17173 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/charcoal/australia/supplemental/nzdkt001-dukes-tarn-nz-charcoal-impd.xlsx https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/charcoal/australia/nzdkt001.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/charcoal/australia/supplemental/nzdkt001-dukes-tarn-nz-charcoal-impd.xlsx https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/charcoal/australia/nzdkt001.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/17173 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/charcoal/australia/supplemental/nzdkt001-dukes-tarn-nz-charcoal-impd.xlsx https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/charcoal/australia/nzdkt001.txt McWethy,David,B.;Wilmshurst,Janet,M.;Whitlock,C.;Wood,Jamie,R.;McGlone,Matt,S.2014A High-Resolution Chronology of Rapid Forest Transitions following Polynesian Arrival in New ZealandPLoS ONEe1113289(11)10.1371/journal.pone.0111328 McWethy,D.B.,Whitlock,C.,Wilmshurst,J.M.,McGlone,M.S.,Fromont,M.,Li,X., Dieffenbacher- Krall,A.,Hobbs,W.O.,Fritz,S.C.,Cook,E.R.2010Rapid landscape transformation in South Island, New Zealand, following initial Polynesian settlement.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences107:21343-21348 START YEAR: 772 cal yr BP * END YEAR: -51 cal yr BP 168.49269 -44.96418 168.49269 -44.96418