19 August
AS the climate change gets worse, the wildfires are becoming more frequent and more devastating. Presently the numerous wildfires burning in Russia, Alaska and Greenland are still raging on. Wildfires are common in the summers in the Arctic, but this year due to unprecedented high temperatures in those areas since June, they are more serious. The adverse consequences of those wildfires are already taking toll on the environments and healths.
Let us see what causes such wildfires. Of the many causes, the most common is the lightening strike. Others include: arson or deliberately setting fire, negligence of the holiday makers who camped out in the forests, uncontrolled burning to clear land for agricultural purposes, indiscriminate discarding of cigarette butts while traveling through a forest area, etc. Whatever the cause may be, it needs tinders such as: dried woods, leaves and weeds that can catch fire readily. Such materials are abundant in every forest.
Thus, if such materials are absent, wildfires would not take place. It's as simple as that, in theory of course, but to avoid wildfires from happening, the forests should be restored on a regular basis. In practice it takes much work. The procedure used is called the "restoration of the forests". Forest restoration is very complex and is carried out for various reasons. For the purpose of this article I will not go into all those complex details, but focus solely on the prevention of wildfires only.
Forest restorations
Most forests have undergrowths or weeds, dead trees and dried leaves that provide fuel for the wildfires to start. It is common knowledge that it takes three elements to make a fire -- oxygen, heat and fuel -- if we can remove one of them there wouldn't be a fire. However, oxygen and heat would be difficult or totally impossible to remove, so it remains that if we can remove fuel we would be able to prevent wildfires. Thus we must keep the forests clear of the undergrowths that can wither in scorching summer temperatures, the already dead trees that had turned into dead woods and dried leaves, which provide tinders to fuel the fire.
Here, the forest restoration comes in. I will be mentioning generally the relevant aspects of it. Clearing the forest floors to get rid of the tinders and thinning the forest if necessary by felling some unwanted trees to make room for other trees to have more space to grow more freely to their fullest, will all contribute to the prevention of wildfires. By doing so, the forest will be conserved at the same time and the trees will be more healthy and flourish.
Benefits of forest restorations
Forest restoration provides a suite of benefits. Successful restoration generates a wide range of benefits -- not only forest quantity and quality, but enhanced food security, improved air and water quality, climate change resilience, job creation, and more.
The Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gas, which is the main ingredient of the greenhouse gases, is the culprit behind the global warming. As the global warming is causing the climate change and responsible for the wildfires, if we can reduce the CO2 from the atmosphere effectively, the climate change could be reined in. It would safe the world from further destructions by unprecedented high temperatures, floods, wildfires, landslide and etc.
Trees are great absorbers of the CO2 gases present in the atmosphere. During daylight hours, trees and plants take in CO2 and release oxygen through photosynthesis, and at night only about half that CO2 is released through respiration. Thus, trees and plants are carbon sinks, meaning they absorb more than they emit. As forests are made up of trees, if we can reforest, afforest and conserve the existing ones properly by restoration works on a regular basis, it will benefit us in many ways. The most significant benefits will be: the wildfires will be reduced as the forest will be devoid of tinders to fuel the fires and the healthier trees of the forests will act as "carbon sinks", a jargon used by climatologists.
Oxygen production rate of trees
It is interesting how much oxygen a tree can produce by breathing in CO2 and water from the atmosphere. The amount of oxygen produced by a tree depends on several factors, including the species of tree, its age, its health, and the tree's surroundings. A tree produces a different amount of oxygen in summer compared to winter. So, there is no one definitive value. Here are some typical calculations. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 pounds/year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings.
One acre of trees annually consumes the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that produced by driving an average car for 26,000 miles. That same acre of trees also produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe for a year. I hope you will notice the above values do not agree with one another. So, it would be safer to assume that in a 24- hour period, they produce more oxygen than they use up. I am not sure where I had read it, but It said a tree gives out ten times the oxygen it used for its survival.
Timely actions will save the planet
As earlier mentioned, forests are vital carbon sinks -- a natural sponge that pulls carbon out of the atmosphere through plant photosynthesis. Because CO2 emissions from human activities are a major cause of climate change, forests do humanity a huge service by disposing off much of its gaseous waste. Also as forests produce large amount of oxygen, which is vital for human survival, the forests should be properly looked after.
Unfortunately, wildfires are more common than they used to be. Higher tree density, more dry wood for fuel, and a warmer, drier climate have caused an increase in the frequency, size, and severity of the wildfires. Restoring forests in a timely manner is critical in making subsequent wildfires less likely. Such rehabilitation and restoration takes many years, and includes planting trees, reestablishing native spe cies, restoring habitats, treating for invasive plants, thinning and clearing out the undergrowths, weeds, dried leaves and dead trees from the forests.
Restoring the forests means "less fuel for wildfire and more storage for carbon". When wildfires burn up forests, they don't just damage the trees, but they destroy a key part of the global carbon cycle. Rehabilitating those trees as quickly as possible could mitigate the severe climate change and save our planet from destruction.
Conclusion
Hopefully, I think I had made it quite clear that forests, or more precisely the trees, are vital for the humans and other living beings to survive on this planet. So, let us protect our forests from deforestations, which can be caused by both the humans and the nature. If humans really care, we would be capable of controlling the nature. What we need to do is for every nation to accept the fact that the climate change is really taking place and join hands, in earnest, to fight the worsening climate change by abiding by the parameters laid down by the Paris Agreement (COP21). The least we can do to deter the advance of the climate change is to grow more trees, conserve our existing forests and restore the forests in time to prevent the wildfires.
Lately, there was a very welcome news in the local media about our country deciding to cut in half the amount of timber extractions. It was a very positive and wise move that will contribute greatly to the reduction of CO2, which is the main culprit of the deteriorating climate conditions that the whole world is facing today. This move will also reduce landslides or mudslides in future, because if our hills and mountains remain forested such disasters will not happen easily. So, let us restore our forests now to create a sustainable future for the new generations.
References;--
1. Growing Air Foundation,
2. Phys.Org,
3. Ecological Society of America.
4. BBC Science Focus Magazine
By Khin Maung Myint
