HARTMAN, M. AND WOODHOUSE, C.

NOAA Paleoclimatology Branch, National Climatic Data Center and the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, Boulder, Colorado, 80305

The International Multiproxy Paleofire Database (IMPD) is an archive of fire history data derived from natural proxies. The IMPD has been established to provide a permanent repository for high-quality paleofire records from around the world. The archive includes fire history records based on both tree-ring and charcoal-sediment data, describing fire regimes at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Tree fire scars and stand establishment dates provide temporally and spatially precise, short-term (100s to 1000s of years) reconstructions of fire events. Charcoal in lake sediments provide long-term (1000s to 10,000s of years) reconstructions of fire events with coarser temporal and spatial resolution. Alluvial fan-based charcoal fire records provide additional fire history information. The growing body of high-quality fire-history data being developed provides an opportunity to investigate the role of fire in ecosystems and the feedbacks that link fire, climate, vegetation, and management decisions. The goal of the IMPD is to archive and make available fire history data from tree-ring and sediment data for both scientific and management needs. To obtain or submit data, visit http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/impd/. The IMPD is sponsored by NOAA and the USDA, and is housed at the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology.