This chapter provides a global perspective on palaeofire activity through the analysis of over 650 stratigraphic sedimentary charcoal records spanning the last 21000 years. Regional time series analysis provides empirical evidence for global-scale trends in fire since the last glacial maximum (LGM), centred at 21000 calendar years before present. Specifically, the chapter explores the relationship between regional changes in global fire activity and large-scale climate controls of fire. To explicitly identify the controls of the observed changes in global fire activity through time, the long-term trends presented should be compared with results from vegetation-fire models that explore potential mechanisms of past (and future) changes in fire activity.
A 21 000-Year History of Fire (Power, 2013)
