Boreal forest fires in Alberta intensifying, impacting ecosystem and climate.
The researchers studied forest fires in Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta. They found that jack pine and aspen forests burn more frequently than black spruce and white spruce forests. The distance to water affects fire frequency, with closer sites burning more often. Fire cycles have changed over the past 300 years, with fires occurring more frequently after 1860. This change may be due to climate changes and human activities like Aboriginal burning practices.