Post‐Fire Surface Energy Partitioning and Thermal Responses in Arctic Boreal Forests and Tundra

Abstract

Rapid Arctic warming intensifies wildfire activity across high‐latitude ecosystems, yet post‐fire surface responses of boreal forests and tundra remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate land surface temperature (LST) and energy partitioning responses during the first post‐fire summer across the pan‐Arctic using satellite observations and surface energy‐balance diagnostics. We find significant post‐fire warming in boreal forests and tundra, with mean LST increases of 0.53 and 0.44 K, respectively. Despite comparable warming magnitudes, energy redistribution pathways differ markedly. In boreal forests, post‐fire evaporative heat loss declines substantially. In contrast, tundra shows little latent heat flux change but a decrease in the residual sensible‐plus‐ground heat flux. Across both ecosystems, positive LST anomalies coexist with decreases in net radiation, while non‐radiative components exhibit different degrees of change. Our findings improve understanding of post‐fire thermal feedbacks in high‐latitude landscapes and highlight the importance of representing ecosystem‐dependent post‐fire energy dynamics in Arctic climate assessments.