Theory 11/Boreal Forest/Fire regime
Fire Interval Is a Fuel Ratio
The claim
The boreal fire return interval is set by the ratio of fuel accumulation rate to decomposition rate rather than by climate alone.
01Mechanism
Fire requires accumulated fuel; cold, wet soils slow decomposition and let fuel build, so the interval is a balance of the two rates.
02Prediction
Interval should track the ratio across sites.
03Refutation
Interval tracking temperature would remove the fuel balance.