Wildfires Pros And Cons
Wildfires are a vital and a natural part of nature. They play a role in shaping ecosystem by serving as an instrument of disruption and renovation. For this reason, humans have learned to harness its power and use it for thousand of years as a land management tool. They continuously use it to bring out its positive benefits such as cleaning up forests of dead and decaying mater and maintaining ecosystem balance between beneficial and harmful plants and animals. However, as a result of change in climate in combination with human use (and misuse) of fire, fires are now a major threat to many forests and their biodiversity. Therefore, our group, believe that US Forest Service should NOT allow wildfires to burn even if they don’t actively endanger
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human life.
Let me remind you of a recent forest fire that started on September 13, 2014 at El Dorado County. According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), 97, 717 acres of land was burned. Michael Williams, a spokesman for Cal Fire said, “the unusually hot and dry [weather]” and “the fuels that would normally burn, on a normal year, a little more mildly, this year, [are] burning real fast, real hot” are what contributed to the difficulty of containing the fire.
This may seem “harmless” to those living far away, but strong wildfires like that have a broader impact on the environment.
Aside from the obvious deforestation, wildfires are a significant source of emitted carbon. They contribute to global warming and the green house effect, which in turn contribute to the observed climate changes. Climate changes alone can have many inverse effects on the structure of ecosystem. This leads to the question of influences on biodiversity. Wildfires can alter biodiversity in various habitats on different scales. It can be a direct impact through displacement of species to an indirect impact, which again, starts with climate change. To further build upon the inverse impact of wildfire, we must consider how plant life and soil are influenced. While wildfires are a necessity for the life cycle of certain trees, letting fires burn uncontrollably can have negative effects on the conditions necessary to sustain those species. Soil quality plays a significant role in plant life/growth. The wettability of soil has been shown to decline as the intensity of wildfire increases. This can jeopardize the quality of soil and subsequently diminish the growth rates of certain plants. Considering the drought that California is in, aren’t wildfires going to be a more prominent
issue?
human life.
Let me remind you of a recent forest fire that started on September 13, 2014 at El Dorado County. According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), 97, 717 acres of land was burned. Michael Williams, a spokesman for Cal Fire said, “the unusually hot and dry [weather]” and “the fuels that would normally burn, on a normal year, a little more mildly, this year, [are] burning real fast, real hot” are what contributed to the difficulty of containing the fire.
This may seem “harmless” to those living far away, but strong wildfires like that have a broader impact on the environment.
Aside from the obvious deforestation, wildfires are a significant source of emitted carbon. They contribute to global warming and the green house effect, which in turn contribute to the observed climate changes. Climate changes alone can have many inverse effects on the structure of ecosystem. This leads to the question of influences on biodiversity. Wildfires can alter biodiversity in various habitats on different scales. It can be a direct impact through displacement of species to an indirect impact, which again, starts with climate change. To further build upon the inverse impact of wildfire, we must consider how plant life and soil are influenced. While wildfires are a necessity for the life cycle of certain trees, letting fires burn uncontrollably can have negative effects on the conditions necessary to sustain those species. Soil quality plays a significant role in plant life/growth. The wettability of soil has been shown to decline as the intensity of wildfire increases. This can jeopardize the quality of soil and subsequently diminish the growth rates of certain plants. Considering the drought that California is in, aren’t wildfires going to be a more prominent
issue?