Alaska's biggest tundra fire sparks climate warning

The fire that raged north of Alaska’s Brooks mountain range in 2007 left a 1000-square-kilometre scorched patch of earth

Pristine tundra takes up about 30 to 70 grams of carbon per metre squared during the summer months, whereas the severely burned site lost about 40 to 120 grams per metre squared. The team also found that the most severely burned terrain absorbed 71 per cent more solar radiation than normal, warming faster as a result and losing a layer of permafrost 5 to 10 centimetres deep.

New Scientist