A study by the Centre for Wildfire Research has found that global CO2 emissions from forest fires have surged by 60% since 2001. Emissions from boreal forests in Eurasia and North America have nearly tripled, with climate change being identified as a major driver behind this increase.
Forest Fire
- A wildfire, also known as a bushfire or vegetation fire, refers to any uncontrolled and non-prescribed burning of plants in natural environments such as forests, grasslands, or tundras.
- These fires spread based on environmental factors like wind and topography and consume natural fuels. For a wildfire to sustain combustion, three essential elements are required: fuel (plant material), oxygen, and a heat source.
Classification
- Surface Fire: Burns along the ground, consuming dry grasses, leaves, and twigs on the forest floor.
- Underground/Zombie Fire: Low-intensity fires burning beneath the forest floor, affecting organic matter.
- Canopy/Crown Fire: Spreads through the tree canopy, driven by wind and dry conditions, often intense and hard to control.
- Controlled Deliberate Fires: Prescribed burns by forest agencies to reduce fuel loads, lower wildfire risks, and maintain ecosystem health.
Key Findings of the Study
- Pyromes and Global Fire Patterns: The study uses machine learning to group global forest ecoregions into 12 distinct “pyromes,” zones where forest fires exhibit similar patterns influenced by climate, vegetation, and human activities. Grouping these regions aids in understanding fire behavior and predicting the effects of climate change or land use, supporting better fire management and risk assessment.
- Geographical Shift in Fire Emissions: The analysis also revealed that apart from tropical and subtropical forest areas, extratropical forest fire carbon emissions from areas located outside the tropics have increased significantly due to climate change. Fire Severity and Carbon Combustion: Globally, the carbon combustion rate in forest fires has risen by 47%, with forests now contributing more to fire emissions than savannahs and grasslands. Increased fire severity is indicated by more fuel being consumed per unit of burned forest area.
- Climate Change and Fire Weather: Anthropogenic climate change is driving more frequent and severe droughts, creating “fire weather” conditions, characterized by low fuel moisture and dry, flammable vegetation. Increased lightning frequency, especially in high-altitude regions, is also contributing to the rise in forest fires.
- Forest Carbon Stock Destabilization: Carbon stocks in multiple forest types including temperate coniferous forests, boreal forests, Mediterranean forests, and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forests, are destabilizing due to increased fire severity.
- Impact on Carbon Accounting: The rise in carbon emissions from forest fires presents challenges to carbon accounting and greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories submitted to the United Nations. For example, Canada’s 2023 wildfires are thought to have offset much of the carbon sink accumulated in its forests over the previous decade.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
- It is a process designed to mitigate the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated from industrial processes and the burning of fossil fuels, particularly in power plants.
- The goal of CCS is to prevent a significant amount of CO2 from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming and climate change.