Fire is a natural and vital part of forest ecosystems, influencing plant communities and serving as an important function in maintaining the health of certain ecosystems. Likewise, wildfires around the world have revealed how much biodiversity and pyrodiversity work well together.
Some animals and plants have already evolved to depend on periodic wildfires for ecological balance. There are prescribed fires that mimic the beneficial effects of wildfires while also making sure that it is within their control.
Wildfire on Angel Island
Allowing Some Wildfires to Burn for Ecological Conservation
Many plants depend on fire and many animals depend on those plants, while other animals also depend on other animals, says Alexandra Syphard, a senior research associate at the Conservation Biology Institute. According to Quanta Magazine, There is an entire structure of dependency because fire is an integral part of the system, despite its ability to destroy life.
In the past, the US Forest Service policy has made fire suppression a top priority. But as wildfires continue to increase in the past years, the idea of allowing some wildfires to burn has become popular for ecological conservation. Ecologists have been able to quantify the effects of wildfires on biodiversity.
Experts said that it will create a positive feedback loop if the fire is viewed as a positive force in biodiversity and evolution that improves the world and helps prevent mega-fires.
Ecologist Brett Furnas from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife added that there is a need to push the balance so there are more low-severity fires than the mix that the world is currently experiencing. He said that prescribed burns could help in reaching that goal.
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Ecological Impact of Fires on Forest Ecosystems
The ecological effects of wildfires on forest ecosystem has been studied over the years but little attention is given to the impact of fires on forest biodiversity.
Forest wildfires are a significant source of emitted carbon globally, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. More so, they lead to change in biomass stocks and impact the functioning of plants and animals as smoke can reduce photosynthetic activity and is detrimental to animal and human health.
But one of the notable ecological effects of wildfires is the increased likelihood that burning will continue in subsequent years as dead trees that have been toppled to the ground open up the dried forest to the sunlight. Repetitive burns are detrimental to the impoverished biodiversity of rain forests ecosystems.
Ecological Importance of Wildfires
Although fire is potentially dangerous to life and property, National Geographic reported that prescribed or controlled burns are beneficial to the ecosystem. These are fires that are planned extensively and performed with tight safety parameters.
Humans have been using prescribed fires for thousands of years for several reasons. Today, prescribed fires are used to promote ecological health and in preventing even larger, more damaging, and uncontrollable wildfires.
It might seem counterintuitive, but it could promote ecological health. Being a natural phenomenon, nature has evolved in the presence of fire as many ecosystems today benefit from periodic fires because they clear out dead organic material for plants and animals to survive and reproduce.
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