A Review of the Occurrence and Causes for Wildfires and Their Impacts on the Geoenvironment
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Wildfires have short- and long-term impacts on the geoenvironment, including the changes to biogeochemical and mechanical properties of soils, landfill stability, surface- and groundwater, air pollution, and vegetation. Climate change has increased the extent and severity of wildfires across the world. Simultaneously, anthropogenic activities—through the expansion of urban areas into wildlands, abandonment of rural practices, and accidental or intentional fire-inception activities—are also responsible for a majority of fires. This paper provides an overall review and critical appraisal of existing knowledge about processes induced by wildfires and their impact on the geoenvironment. Burning of vegetation leads to loss of root reinforcement and changes in soil hydromechanical properties. Also, depending on the fire temperature, soil can be rendered hydrophobic or hydrophilic and compromise soil nutrition levels, hinder revegetation, and, in turn, increase post-fire erosion and debris flow susceptibility of hillslopes. In addition to direct hazards, wildfires pollute air and soil with smoke and fire suppression agents releasing toxic, persistent, and relatively mobile contaminants into the geoenvironment. Nevertheless, the mitigation of wildfires’ geoenvironmental impacts does not fit within the scope of this paper. In the end, in no exhaustive way, some areas of future need for research are highlighted.
Source: Fire
DOI: 10.3390/fire7080295
Authors: Arvin Farid, Md Khorshed Alam, Venkata Siva Naga Sai Goli, Idil Deniz Akin, Taiwo Akinleye, Xiaohui Chen, Qing Cheng, Peter Cleall, Sabatino Cuomo, Vito Foresta, Shangqi Ge, Luca Iervolino, Pierrette Iradukunda, F Charles H. Luce, Eugeniusz Koda, Slobodan B. Mickovski, Brendan C. O’Kelly, Evan K. Paleologos, Dario Peduto, Evan John Ricketts, Mojtaba Sadegh, Theo S. Sarris, Devendra N. Singh, Prithvendra Singh, Chao-Sheng Tang, Guillermo Tardio, Magdalena Daria Vaverková, Max Veneris, Jan Winkler
Institutions: Boise State University, University of Kassel, University of California, Los Angeles, Washington State University, University of Leeds, Nanjing University, Cardiff University, University of Salerno, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Trinity College Dublin, US Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Abu Dhabi University, Mendel University in Brno, New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Language: English
Topic: Fire effects on ecosystems
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,728
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W4401749482