A new study reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation.
The escalation of extreme wildfires globally has prompted a critical examination of wildfire management strategies. A new study from the University of Montana reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation.
Though fire suppression reduces the overall area burned, it mainly eliminates low- and moderate-intensity fires. As a result, the remaining fires are biased to be more extreme, Kreider said. The new study published March 25 in, shows how this"suppression bias" causes average fire severity to increase substantially.
Fire suppression exacerbated the trends already caused by climate change and fuel accumulation, the study found, causing areas burned to increase three to five times faster over time relative to a world with no suppression. Andrew Larson, Kreider's Ph.D. adviser and a professor of forest ecology at UM, said this has significant impacts on ecosystems.
"It may seem counterintuitive, but our work clearly highlights that part of addressing our nation's fire crisis is learning how to accept more fires burning when safely possible," said Philip Higuera, a co-author and UM professor of fire ecology."That's as important as fuels reduction and addressing global warming."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New study reveals unintended consequences of fire suppressionThe escalation of extreme wildfires globally has prompted a critical examination of wildfire management strategies. A new study from the University of Montana reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation.
Read more »
mRNA vaccines may make unintended proteins, but there’s no evidence of harmAlterations that help messenger RNA persist in living cells can trip up protein synthesis
Read more »
Due process and property rights ‘being shaken to the core’ by New York attorney general’s vendetta against TrumpLetitia James is going for immediate gratification in her case against Trump and ignoring the unintended medium- and long-term consequences that will follow.
Read more »
Irish voters reject constitutional amendment about women's role in homeOpponents argued that the wording of the changes was poorly thought out and some voters said they feared changes would lead to unintended consequences.
Read more »
Nobel-winning biologist on the most promising ways to stop ageingEfforts to extend our lifespan continue and many look promising, but success will have unintended consequences, says Nobel prizewinner Venki Ramakrishnan
Read more »
Mike Rowe criticizes California governor and Panera franchisee over minimum wage debateMike Rowe criticizes both California’s governor and the franchisee for not preparing for "unintended consequences" in the Panera minimum wage debate. A major donor to Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom reportedly hoped to use a loophole to avoid implementing the state’s new $20 minimum wage regulations for the fast food industry — but is now reversing course.
Read more »