Wildfires can have immediate and long term effects on the quality of rivers, lakes, and streams. The most noticeable impact of wildfires is stormwater runoff. After the loss of vegetation, the ground’s soil becomes hydrophobic and prevents the absorption of water.

Clearly, fire can shape ecosystem composition, structure and functions by selecting fire adapted species and removing other susceptible species, releasing nutrients from the biomass and improving nutrient cycling, affecting soil properties through changing soil microbial activities and water relations, and creating …

Wildfires threaten lives directly, and wildfire smoke can affect us all. They spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away—causing breathing difficulties in even healthy individuals, not to mention children, older adults and those with heart disease, diabetes, asthma, COPD and other lung diseases.

In the short term, polluted air can worsen some conditions, such as lung diseases. Henderson says it can even trigger events that cause death, such as an asthma attack that cannot be brought under control or a heart attack. In contrast, long-term effects can include serious chronic diseases.

Answer: The reason for this is that putting out the fires only postpones the fire outbreak to a later date, and there is the fear of the fire outbreak being more sever when it actually comes. When wildfires burn, they clean up the forest off dead trees and falling logs.

The extent of a bushfire is also very important. A large bushfire can cause multiple direct impacts: on life and property, on the survival of fauna populations, on water resources, and indirectly on government budgets and insurance costs. A large bushfire will also generate huge amounts of smoke.

Forest management that selectively removes trees to reduce fire risk, among other objectives (a practice referred to as “fuel treatments”), can maintain uneven-aged forest structure and create small openings in the forest. Under some conditions, this practice can help prevent large wildfires from spreading.

forest fire. Forest fires help in the natural cycle of woods’ growth and replenishment. They: Clear dead trees, leaves, and competing vegetation from the forest floor, so new plants can grow. Break down and return nutrients to the soil.

Healthy, diverse forests can better cope with such disturbances and continue to function as forests. Maintain or increase the quality and quantity of water from forest ecosystems. Maintain or increase soil productivity and minimize soil erosion and contamination.

Federal agencies like the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Parks Service are responsible for the upkeep of federally-owned land, and as far as private forest land is concerned, it’s up to the owners to manage these areas.

Management objectives can be for conservation, utilisation, or a mixture of the two. Techniques include timber extraction, planting and replanting of different species, building and maintenance of roads and pathways through forests, and preventing fire.

Forestry Best Management Practices

• Pre-harvest planning.
• Streamside management zones.
• Forest wetlands protection.
• Road construction and maintenance.
• Timber harvesting.
• Revegetation.
• Fire management.
• Forest chemical management.

Sustainable forestry is about managing forests to provide wood, clean water, wildlife habitat and beautiful landscapes.