Fire at Waldo Canyon do Colorado, in the United States
A new survey found that current forest fires occur only 20% of their historical frequency, which leads to much more serious due to fuel accumulation.
Forest fires in North America are currently less frequent than in the past centuries, but they have become significantly more intense Due to fuel accumulation, according to a recent published in the journal Nature Communications.
Researchers from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (Cires) of the University of Colorado in Boulder and the US Rocky Service Research Station underline the urgent need for prescribed burning and fuel treatments to reduce the risk of forest fires, explains the.
The study compared the frequency of fires between two periods: 1600-1880 and 1984-2022. Using 1850 registrations of Modern Home Fire Perimeter Tree Rings and Maps of the US and Canada, investigators found that current forest fires only 20% of their historical frequency occur. However, the decrease in fires activity led to a forest fuel accumulation, increasing the likelihood of high intensity fires.
Chris Guiterman, scientist at Cires, warns that, without beneficial fires management, the most destructive forest fires are inevitable. Historically, the fires burned more frequently but with less intensity, allowing the recovery of forests. On the other hand, modern fires are so serious that they often leave the sterile and full of dead trees.
Before 1880, indigenous communities and natural lightnings helped maintain the balance of forests fire prone. Traditional burning practices cleaned the bush and debris, reducing the amount of flammable material. However, widespread suppression of fires in the last century disturbed these natural processes, making forests more vulnerable to extreme fires.
The investigation corroborates the previous conclusions that historical forest fires burned less destructively even during droughts. Experts advocate mechanical fuel treatments and controlled fire to reduce the intensity of the fire in accordance with Indigenous Fire Management Practices and long -term ecological strategies.
“Forest fires are inevitable, but the preparation of our forests with fuel reduction and controlled fire treatments will help to alleviate your impact”Said Parks.
