Wildfires are large uncontrolled fires that have been classified among natural calamities since, in the past, most of them occurred naturally. Wildfires interfere with the natural resources’ geological framework and threaten forests and climatic patterns. Wildfires shape the ecosystem but are catastrophic and hence are major concerns of several nations. The impact of wildfires on the environment and human beings is very severe, thus calling for creative and innovative preventive measures as they destroy vast lands within a short time, and the post-fire effects are also catastrophic. In the past, their causes have been greatly influenced by climate change but are currently influenced by human factors like population increase. Efforts to curb wildfires seem to be backfiring, as there has been a disturbing increase in wildfire trends globally over the past 30 years. This paper looks at the trends of wildfires impact of global wildfires on the geological environment with possible measures that can be taken to lower the increasingly alarming trends.
Research indicates that wildfires have increased in frequency and magnitude over the past decade. For instance, between 2000 and 2004, seven areas were affected by wildfires within the Utah region. In the past, wildfires were known to last for hours; recently, others have been lasting for weeks, like the Missionary Ridge fire that burned for more than a month in 2002 near Durango, Colorado, as illustrated by Cannon and Degraff (5). The cause of increasing wildfires has been associated with climate change resulting from global warming and recent human factors such as increased population and urbanization. Research shows that most fires occur during the dry period, like in the western states, after the long dry spell of springs associated with reduced precipitation during the rainy season. The forces behind the increase in wildfire frequencies have been linked to increasing temperatures and prolonged dry spells resulting from low precipitation during the rainy period. Low precipitation, high temperatures, and droughts increase the vulnerability of forests to worse frequent fires as they aid in the drying of vegetation, making it easier for the forests to catch fire and spread faster, as explained by Pelegrin and Bucher (3).
Wildfires cause severe environmental damage both in the short and long term. One of their immediate impacts is the great loss of vegetation and ground cover, trees and grasses inclusive. Wildfires have been reported on the plains, mountains, and forests. The fire burns down vegetation and ground cover, reducing most of them to ashes, thus leaving the ground bare and ugly, thus destroying the natural aesthetic value of the environment, as implied by Baltzer (43).
Wildfires contribute greatly to desertification. The invasion of forests by large uncontrolled fire has been a common phenomenon for centuries, and the damage to forests worldwide is devastating. Research indicates that most natural forests have been reduced or eradicated by wildfires, and there is fear of the complete eradication of natural forests left if the trend continues and massive desertification. The impact of forests’ absence on the environment is despicable since it contributes to the increase of deserts across the globe forests are the major water resources and also influence rainfall that leads to droughts, prolonged dry spells, and the widening of deserts’ climatic change as illustrated by Baltzer (52).
Baltzer (57) further says that wildfires release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that, in the long run, interfere with the ozone layer, thus contributing to global warming. Trees and other vegetation are made of carbon; thus, burning a large number of them would lead to the emission of a high amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that, in turn, depletes the ozone layer hence contributing to severe alarming global problems, climate change that has seen increased temperatures, prolonged dry spells, and droughts.
Creighton and Santelices (4) state that wildfires contribute to the alteration of soil properties. Fires interfere with the soil’s original compassion as burning affects physical properties. For instance, fires lead to changes in soil color in some cases, structure, aggregate stability, texture, infiltration, and macro pore space. Chemical and biological soil components are also altered. In addition, fire does interfere with the nutrient cycle as it reduces some nutrients like the nitrous family to nitrogen which is realized to the environment as illustrated by Creighton and Santelices (5).
Moreover, eradicating vegetation and ground cover leaves the ground bare, making the land vulnerable to massive soil erosions. Wildfires aid in exposing the soil to wind and precipitation as they eliminate the protective layer of vegetation that cover and hold the soil firmly together, thus ensuring little or no movement of soil under the influence of wind and water. Direct contact of wind and moving water with the soil makes it easier for the soil to be carried away, resulting in thinner soil layers, loss of nutrients, and development of undesirable trenches that make the environment lose its visual appeal, as implied by Kyoji and Canuti (3).
Furthermore, Kyoji and Canuti (6) state that wildfires’ destruction of vegetation and ground cover triggers debris flow (mudslides). Debris flow is the movement of rocks, logs, bushes, and other fragments and is very destructive as they can move to a very large environment depending on the storm’s intensity. Debris flow is influenced by heavy rainfall, steep slope, and loose soils that result from wildfires. Wildfires weaken hillside stability by getting rid of vegetation and ground cover that play a crucial role in holding the soil firmly together, protecting the ground from being hit directly by raindrops and absorbing precipitation. Excess precipitation makes the soil unstable and thus prone to movements during storms. Post-fire debris movements have been witnessed in several parts of the world. For instance, the seven wildfires in northern Utah between 2000 and 2004 resulted in 26 debris flows, as stated by Cannon and Degraff (5). On a wider and more dangerous scope, wildfires result in landslides which are land movements along steep slopes that result from a severe weakening of soil and underlying rocks by excessive precipitation facilitated by heavy destructive storms like hurricanes, as explained by Kyoji and Canuti (7).
The increasing trends in wildfire frequencies and magnitudes globally call for the immediate establishment of preventive measures. Environmentalists claim that controlling wildfires is difficult but agree that minimizing their risks is possible by employing appropriate forest management mechanisms since experts argue that the effects of wildfires would not have been severe had the forests been properly and carefully managed. Forest stewards are advised to follow appropriate basic forest stewardship practices like thinning and pruning to reduce the coverage of dry vegetation in the forests for smaller forests. The governments are urged to allocate more resources to the fight against wildfire and encourage people to join hands in the project as it requires combined efforts. Developing an effective firebreak mechanism, both natural and artificial, that aids in minimizing wildfire spread is vital, as illustrated by Mendes (26).
In summary, large uncontrolled fires are catastrophic as they impact the environment. Wildfires have been occurring for centuries. However, research indicates that their trends have increased recently in magnitude and frequency at a distressing rate. Wildfires have been tied to drastic climatic changes that resulted in low precipitation and prolonged dry spells and, recently, human factors like increased population. Wildfires are serious threats to the environment in the long term, as analysis shows a self-sufficient cycle that rotates from climatic change to wildfires and vice versa. This is because wildfires contribute to climatic change through carbon dioxide emission, destruction of resources like water sources, and desertification resulting in prolonged dry spells and increased temperatures that, unfortunately, are the major factors of wildfire outbreaks. Wildfires wipe off vegetation and ground cover leading to weak soil that results in massive rapid erosion, debris flow, and landslides in case of steep slopes, and alters the soil properties of that area. Therefore, it is essential to develop measures to prevent and control these fires to lower the startling increase in wildfire trends that has been realized worldwide to eliminate their future impacts on the environment. One of the prevention measures includes the establishment appropriate forest management scheme.
Works Cited
Baltzer, Rochelle. Wildfires. Edina: ABDC Pub. Co, 2012. Print.
Cannon, S., and J. V. Degraff. “Cascading Consequences of Climate Change and Expanding Population on the Threat of Wildfire and Post Fire Debris-flow Hazards, Western US. (Invited).” (2009): Print.
Litton, Creighton M., and Romulo Santelices. “Effects of Wildfire on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in a Nothofagus Glauca Chile.” Revista Chilena De Historia Natural (2003):n pag. Print.
Mendes, Isabel. “Economic Tools to Design Efficient Intergraded Wildfire Fighting Management Strategies.” (2008). Print.
Pelegrin, N., and E. H. Bucher. “ Long-term Effects of a Wildfire on a Lizard Assemblage in the Arid Chao Forest.” Journal of Arid Environments (2010): n. pag. Print.
Sassa, Kyoji, and Paolo Canuti. Landslides Disaster Risk Reduction. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009. Print.
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