Is Smokey the Bear Worsening Global Warming?

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Scientists have long believed that preventing or dousing forest fires helps combat global warming by saving trees and thus allowing forests to take up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But surprising new data on hundreds of California forest sites suggest the opposite. The work could help quantify the role of forests in the global carbon cycle and shape U.S. federal fire policy.

Small, natural fires thin out shrubs and small trees without killing larger trees. This allows the larger trees, which absorb the most carbon, to flourish without interference. Competition with smaller plants, however, leaves them more vulnerable to disease and drought.

Keywords: ecology global warming global climate change climate change forest fires fire U.S. federal fire policy trees forests global carbon cycle carbon dioxide global warming