Wildfires are an integral part of most terrestrial ecosystems. Paleofire records composed of charcoal, soot, and other combustion products deposited in lake and marine sediments, soils, and ice provide a record of the varying importance of fire over time on every continent. This study reviews paleofire research to identify lessons about the nature of fire on Earth and how its past variability is relevant to modern environmental challenges. Four lessons are identified. First, fire is highly sensitive to climate change, and specifically to temperature changes. As long as there is abundant, dry fuel, we can expect that in a warming climate, fires will continue to grow unusually large, severe, and uncontrollable in fire-prone environments. Second, a better understanding of “slow” (interannual to multidecadal) socioecological processes is essential for predicting future wildfire and carbon emissions. Third, current patterns of burning, which are very low in some areas and very high in others—are often unprecedented in the context of the Holocene. Taken together, these insights point to a fourth lesson—that current changes in wildfire dynamics provide an opportunity for paleoecologists to engage the public and help them understand the potential consequences of anthropogenic climate change.

中文翻译：

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过去可以说火的现在和未来

野火是大多数陆地生态系统不可或缺的一部分。由沉积在湖泊和海洋沉积物、土壤和冰中的木炭、煤烟和其他燃烧产物组成的古火记录提供了随着时间的推移，每个大陆上火灾的不同重要性的记录。本研究回顾了古火灾研究，以确定地球上火灾的性质及其过去的变化如何与现代环境挑战相关的经验教训。确定了四个教训。首先，火对气候变化高度敏感，特别是对温度变化。只要有充足的干燃料，我们就可以预期，在气候变暖的情况下，火灾将继续在易发生火灾的环境中异常大、严重和无法控制。第二，更好地理解“缓慢”（年际到数十年）社会生态过程对于预测未来的野火和碳排放至关重要。第三，目前的燃烧模式在某些地区非常低，而在另一些地区却非常高——在全新世的背景下往往是前所未有的。总而言之，这些见解指出了第四个教训——野火动态的当前变化为古生态学家提供了与公众接触并帮助他们了解人为气候变化的潜在后果的机会。