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USA: Study finds human behaviour and land use drives forest fire behavior

Source(s): KQED
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Photo by Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker CC By 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Photo by Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker CC By 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

By Jane Braxton Little

Temperatures are rising and forest fires, already larger and more frequent than the historical norm, are projected to increase dramatically with anthropogenic warming. 

That’s the general consensus among scientists studying the relationship between fire activity and climate change in the Sierra Nevada. But a study released last week found an influence on past fire activity even greater than climate: human beings.

[...]

The study about humans and fire, coauthored by Alan H. Taylor of Penn State, suggests that land managers and owners can affect fire behaviour through activities that make forests more resilient. 

“By changing land use, we can at least buffer some of the effects of climate change,” Trouet said.

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Hazards Wildfire
Themes Climate change Environment and ecosystems Risk identification and assessment Disaster risk management
Country and region United States of America
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