WildFIRE PIRE Research in Patagonia

Patagonia represents the southernmost study region of WildFIRE PIRE and provides a critical high-latitude, Southern Hemisphere perspective on wildfire dynamics. The Patagonian Andes and adjacent steppe ecosystems have experienced dramatic changes in fire regimes over the past several millennia, driven by climate variability and human activity.

Why Patagonia?

Patagonia offers a unique opportunity to study fire in both forested and non-forested ecosystems under strong westerly wind influence. By comparing this region with the Northern Hemisphere sites (Western U.S.) and other Southern Hemisphere sites (Australia and New Zealand), the project achieves a truly global understanding of fire-climate-human interactions across hemispheres.

Research Focus Areas

In Patagonia, the project will:

  • Reconstruct fire activity over the past 10,000+ years using lake-sediment charcoal and pollen records
  • Develop high-resolution tree-ring fire histories for the last 1,000+ years
  • Examine interactions between climate variability (including the Southern Annular Mode), vegetation change, and human (indigenous and European) fire use
  • Quantify vegetation-fire-soil feedbacks in Andean forest and steppe environments
  • Project future wildfire behavior under changing climate scenarios

Study Sites

  • Multiple watersheds in the Patagonian Andes (Argentina and Chile)
  • Complementary sites in the Patagonian steppe where appropriate

Broader Context

This research completes the global network of WildFIRE PIRE study regions and complements parallel studies in:

View the full Science Plan
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Related Categories
All Research pages | All Project pages | All Wildfire studies

Tags
NSF | PIRE | Patagonia | Fire History | Paleoecology | Soil Erosion Control | Climate Change

This page is faithfully restored from the 2013–2015 historical archives of wildfirepire.org. Content originates from the NSF-funded WildFIRE PIRE Science Plan and remains in the public domain.