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.
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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