Comment on 'Prescribed Hie As a Means of Reducing Forest Carbon Emissions in the Western United States'

摘要

Wiedinmyer and Hurteau (1) present a "preliminary sensitivity analysis" suggesting that a one-to-one replacement of wildfire with low-intensity prescribed fire in western U.S. forests between 2001 and 2008 would have substantially reduced pyrogenic carbon emissions over this period. We agree that prescribed burning is an important tool for restoring certain forests to the fire regimes in which they evolved. We further agree that pyrogenic carbon emissions must be considered in regional carbon accounting and commend the authors for highlighting the spatiotemporal variability and uncertainties associated with emissions estimates.