Paleofire researchers with an interest in open access data sharing through the Neotoma Paleoecology Database converged at Pennsylvania State University hosted by Sarah Ivory’s Department of Geosciences paleoenvironmental research group 20–23 April 2025 to build the Global Charcoal Database version 5 as a Neotoma constituent database.
See also
Ivory S et al. 2026. The Global Paleofire Database in Neotoma: Next steps toward integration. PAGES 34(2), 94. https://doi.org/10.22498/pages.34.2.94
The Global Paleofire Database in Neotoma: Next steps toward integration
Ivory S.J., Marlon J.R., Leys B., Glückler R., O’Mara N.A., Dietze E. and Williams J.W.
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Past Global Changes Magazine 34(2),94. (2026)
Ivory Sarah J.1, Marlon J.R.2, Leys B.3, Glückler R.4, O’Mara N.A.5, Dietze E.6 and Williams J.W.7
Global Paleofire–Neotoma Workshop, State College, USA, and online, 20–22 April 2026
Fire is a fundamental process that impacts ecosystems, carbon cycling and human lives at many scales (Marlon 2020). Sedimentary charcoal is the primary record of changes in fire for timescales longer than those observable by satellite and tree rings, but many new analytical approaches are now emerging (e.g. Vachula et al. 2022). Although paleofire records are essential to understanding fire and managing resilient landscapes, paleofire data remain fragmented across multiple databases and are not associated with other paleoenvironmental data, such as fossil pollen or geochemistry, that can contextualize the consequences or drivers of fire (Dietze et al. 2024).
| Figure 1: Map of datasets compiled for the Global Paleofire Database in Neotoma. Datasets flagged for initial DataBUS upload are shown in red. |
The Global Charcoal Database was first published in 2007, and, through several versions, over 2000 datasets were compiled (Power et al. 2010; Harrison et al. 2022). However, long-term challenges with standardization and accessibility limited its use. As wildfire regimes continue to intensify, these data become more valuable for detecting shifting baselines and benchmarking models. Thus, there is a need for an integrated, sustainable paleofire database that could integrate other fire proxy data, such as fire biomarkers (Dietze et al. 2024).
Hosted by Pennsylvania State University from 20–22 April 2026, 17 in-person and four virtual participants from Africa, Europe, North America, and South America met to formally integrate the Global Paleofire Database into the Neotoma Paleoecology Database as a new constituent database (Williams et al. 2018; Dietze et al. 2024). The workshop brought together regional experts in paleofire to develop data standards, outline a data upload process, and determine a governance and community outreach plan to revitalize the International Paleofire Network.
Database integration planning
Participants discussed recent progress for harmonizing paleofire data from the past two years. Due to the heterogeneity of metadata among different paleofire database versions, a decision was made to begin data ingest by identifying charcoal count datasets to act as the main criteria for the first wave of uploads to Neotoma through the new Data Bulk Uploader System (DataBUS, Dominguez and Goring 2023). The group identified approximately 200 priority datasets containing charcoal counts that constitute the first wave and developed a plan for future uploads of remaining datasets (Fig. 1).
Another major workshop achievement was developing common standards for sedimentary charcoal records in Neotoma. Participants finalized a “gold-standard” framework — to standardize naming of charcoal variables, size classes, morphologies, and units — that fits the Neotoma database structure (Williams et al. 2018). Additionally, a flagging system was discussed to streamline finding standardized data while allowing flexibility for legacy datasets in Neotoma that do not follow the developed conventions. The concept of the gold-standard framework was commented on by the community prior to the workshop and a technical paper is in development to describe it.
Building a global community
Regional representatives highlighted scientific opportunities, and major knowledge and data gaps. These science opportunities included integrating multiple data types alongside paleofire data, model integration, and the need for reconstructions of multiple dimensions of fire, such as fire severity. Regarding gaps, not all regions were represented in this workshop (e.g. Australasia), and participants highlighted a need for building capacity and community, equitable access to data and redeveloped analytical tools, and revision of data-use policies for promoting inclusive authorship practices. To support long-term sustainability and community engagement, workshop participants adopted a new governance structure and drafted bylaws for the Global Paleofire Database and International Paleofire Network that includes a steering committee, regional representatives, data stewards, and working groups focused on data standards, communications, educational resources, and tool development.
Finally, participants developed a technical paper, describing the new constituent database, which will be published later this year after an initial data upload. A second workshop focused on analytical best practices and fire reconstruction is also tentatively planned in late 2027. Together, these efforts represent an important step toward creating an open, globally coordinated paleofire data resource capable of addressing emerging fire-climate challenges.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank all attendees (full list here: neotomadb.org/news-events/april-2026-paleofire-workshop) and the many people who’ve contributed to paleofire databases. This workshop and the developments leading to this report were funded by NSF-2536517 and the European COST-Action PalaeOpen (CA23116).
affiliationS
1Department of Geosciences and Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Penn State University, State College, USA
2Yale School of the Environment, New Haven, USA
3AMAP, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, France
4Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Netherlands
5Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, USA
6Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen, Germany
7Department of Geography and Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA
contact
Sarah J. Ivory: sji15
psu
edu
references
Dietze E et al. (2024) PAGES Mag 32(2): 140
Dominguez S, Goring S (2023) Neotoma Paleoecology Database DataBUS
Harrison SP et al. (2022) Earth Syst Sci Data 14: 1109-1124
Marlon JR (2020) Quat Res 96: 66-87
Power MJ et al. (2010) Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 291: 52-59
Vachula RS et al. (2022) Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 596: 110995
Williams JW et al. (2018) Quat Res 89: 156-177
And Neotoma.db original post:
https://www.neotomadb.org/news-events/april-2026-paleofire-workshop
April 2026 PaleoFire Workshop
Last week, April 20-22, an international group of paleofire scientists convened for a workshop led by Sarah Ivory at Pennsylvania State University. The workshop’s goal was to come to a set of decisions concerning a new Neotoma constituent database, the Global Paleofire Database. These decisions encompassed the process for remobilization of old and new data, standard taxonomies for naming charcoal, governance of the new database, and the design of new tools for manipulating paleofire data in Neotoma. It was a great success!
In-person and virtual participants at the Penn State 2026 Paleofire Workshop
Participants (in-person):
Sarah Ivory
Jennifer Marlon
Jack Williams
Berangere Leys
Nick Hoffman
Nick O’Mara
Ramesh Glueckler
Dan Gavin
Walter Finsinger
Angelica Feurdean
Tyler Karp
Richard Vachula
Anthony Delgadillo-Salas
Caleb Norville
Alejandra Domic
Damien Ruis
Colin Courtney-Mustaphi
Participants (virtual):
Elisabeth Dietze
Socorro Dominguez
Ankit Raj
Abraham Dabengwa
Posted April 28, 2026 by Nick Hoffman https://www.neotomadb.org/news-events/april-2026-paleofire-workshop