The detection of carbon in ecological contexts has been used as an indicator of wildfire and forest fires, but its definition and characterization have been a problem, as it has been described by various terms, such as black carbon, charcoal, fusain, elemental carbon, soot, microcrystalline carbon, polymetric carbon, or graphite, etc. This paper is an effort to correct this situation. This research is focused on the comparison of terms for different forms of carbon found in the environment that might be associated with fire, as well as related aspects of changes resulting from, e.g., changes in the distribution of pollen or species (including animals) in regions of study. The variation in the use of terms complicates the understanding of the nature of fire in the past. In his definitive and comprehensive text, Edward D. Goldberg (1985) attempted to bring order and scientific discipline to the study of carbon in the environment. In recent years, a number of new techniques have been applied to this study, greatly expanding the contexts where carbon has been found and describing the processes involved in its production and the means of preservation and quantification. These advances have largely been made in the pursuit of discovering the history of ancient fire, yet at the cost of precise characterization of carbon from different contexts. In the context of current dramatic changes in fire intensity and magnitude, the nature of fire in the past is of great interest. This paper addresses this problem. A variety of terms are still being used to describe carbon in the environment. Carbon is generally considered now to be a marker or proxy for fire, rather than a result of other processes associated with the degradation of plant material (e.g., oxidation producing coal). This has affected ideas of wildfire in contemporary contexts.
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Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Year 2025 | Article Id: RLS-V1I3P101 DOI: https://doi.org/10.59232/RLS-V1I3P101
Carbon in the Environment and the Characterization of Fire Regimes in the Past
Niccolo Caldararo
| Received | Revised | Accepted | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08 Jul 2025 | 07 Aug 2025 | 11 Sep 2025 | 26 Sep 2025 |
Citation
Niccolo Caldararo. “Carbon in the Environment and the Characterization of Fire Regimes in the Past.” DS Reviews of Research in Life Sciences, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 1-10, 2025.
Abstract
Keywords
Carbon, Charcoal, Wildfire, Degradation, Preservation, Fire history.
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