Peat fires in boreal and tundra regions can potentially cause a high CO2 release, because of their large soil carbon stocks. Under current and future climate warming the frequency and intensity of droughts are increasing and will cause the plant community and organic soil to become more susceptible to fire. The organic soil consumption by fire is commonly used as a proxy for fire severity and is a large source of carbon release. However, the role of organic soils in both above- and belowground fire behavior has only rarely been studied.

Unclean combustion of solid fuel for cooking and other household energy needs leads to severe household air pollution and adverse health impacts in adults and children. Replacing traditional solid fuel stoves with high efficiency, low-polluting semi-gasifier stoves can potentially contribute to addressing this global problem.

Black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) aerosols are important components of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in polluted urban environments. Quantifying the contribution of fossil fuel and biomass combustion to BC and OC concentrations is critical for developing and validating effective air quality control measures and climate change mitigation policy. We used radiocarbon (14C) to measure fossil and contemporary biomass contributions to BC and OC at three locations in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA during 2012-2014, including during winter inversion events.