In , calculations suggested that restoring low-intensity fire would release more carbon than not burning. However, new computer simulations of wildfire behavior over several decades showed that prescribed burns and vegetation thinning can both reduce the risk of wildfire and trap more carbon in tree growth than an untreated forest.
They ran many simulations with randomized wildfire behavior to get a range of results for different fire prevention treatments.
The simulations showed that when wildfire is added to the system, even the most invasive treatment, thinning and burning, trapped more carbon than it lost—after 40 years for a high probability of wildfire, and after 51 years for low probability of wildfire.
John Campbell, an Oregon State University forestry professor, remains skeptical that the simulations definitively show that thinning and burning has a positive effect on the atmosphere. However, he does not deny the treatments reduce the risk of intense wildfires. Malcolm North, a Forest Service research scientist who co-wrote the study with Hurteau, said that how a controlled burn affects the climate depends on the region.
In the Pacific Northwest, where forests receive lots of moisture and fires are easier to suppress, a treated forest would not trap as much carbon, North said. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. Fire can be an incredibly useful tool. We cook our food with fire, warm our homes, light candles, roast marshmallows, shape metals, and create new energy — all with fire.
However, using fire as a tool requires extreme awareness of safety, because it can be incredibly dangerous and destructive. Even a single spark in a dry forest can start a wildfire that engulfs hundreds of thousands of acres. Depending on the weather, these small sparks can wipe out entire forests and cities within days, destroying everything in their path and polluting the air with smoke thick enough to be seen from space.
Learn more about the power and science behind wildfires with this collection of resources. Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water.
These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water. Help your students understand the impact humans have on the physical environment with these classroom resources. The experimental "dragon's eggs" may help land managers restore degraded prairie.
Wildfires are destructive forces, but they can occur naturally. Because of this, certain plants and animals have evolved to depend on periodic wildfires for ecological balance. Prescribed burns can mimic the benefits of wildfires while also lowering the risks associated with larger, uncontrolled fires. A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire that burns in wildland vegetation, often in rural areas. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.
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They are strategically designed by a team of certified fire experts and only occur under the safest conditions. Ecological thinning often takes place before a burn to make them safer and more effective.
Careful consideration is given to many factors, including the weather and wind, to ensure that the fire practitioners and nearby communities are safe and protected.
Controlled burns are conducted where there is the greatest need for forest restoration and the biggest risk of out-of-control wildfire. They are directed in a way that is safe, controlled and aligned with the values all Oregonians care about, such as clean air.
Burning occurs during the spring and fall, when conditions are just right. Stay informed. Together, we can restore our forests and reduce the risk of severe fire. Please provide a valid email address. To review your email preferences, please visit nature. We may have detected a typo. Did you mean to type?
Science tells us that the best way to reduce the risk of severe wildfire is to restore our forests to their natural state with controlled burns.
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