Wildfires are devastating and can wreak havoc on communities, economies, wildlife, and the climate. If current trends continue, the damage will only get worse.

A major part of fire prevention involves reducing the amount of fuel in dry forests. That means going in and selectively logging or clearing out undergrowth, sometimes called mechanical thinning.
Loss of Vegetation

Wildfires and deforestation cause a significant loss of vegetation. These are the two largest carbon losses in the world (14). This loss is not just limited to fires but also includes a period of time when trees do not grow, which we call forest degradation. This is a significant contributor to the loss of vegetation, and it also reduces water storage and soil stability.

In many areas, fires are a natural part of the succession cycle that spans decades. However, in many countries, deforestation has increased the number of fires per year and is causing the forest to burn more often than it used to. This can lead to the decrease of vegetation cover and a loss of habitat for wildlife.

Despite their importance, the impact of fires on vegetation is not well understood. This is because identifying disturbances that affect the vegetation is not easy, and there are many subtle signals. For example, a plant may recover from a fire by growing back in the same area but with a different phenological stage.

A number of studies have investigated the resilience of vegetation to changes in climate and land use. They find that the lag-one autocorrelation (AC1) and variance of the vegetation indices can be used as metrics to determine the strength of the system’s memory or resilience to change1,22,23,24,25,26.

Although it has been shown that the AC1 of a vegetation system can be used to estimate its resilience to changes in climate and land use, there are still some limitations. For instance, AC1 is dependent on the climate and its effects on vegetation, and it can be influenced by local environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, and humidity. Additionally, it is not possible to accurately measure AC1 with high spatial resolution in all areas where vegetation is changing.

To address these limitations, we developed a novel approach to determine the area and trend of forest loss due to fire in a static year 2000 forest mask. This method allows us to eliminate any potential omission errors caused by very sparse or regrowing forest (Hansen et al., 2013). The results show that the area of forest loss due to fire in the year 2000 forest mask varies across regions and is higher in regions where vegetation has been altered by fires than in areas where it has not been altered by fires.
Loss of Wildlife

Wildfires have become increasingly common over the last century, wreaking havoc on the natural environment. They also release a huge amount of carbon into the atmosphere, which is a key driver of climate change.

Deforestation is another cause of wildlife loss. Trees are an important habitat for many species, providing shade, food and shelter. They can also help to reduce temperatures by blocking the sun's rays during the day and trapping heat at night.

Forests and other habitat islands are essential for some species to survive, especially those that are rare or threatened. Without these habitats, they may no longer be able to find enough food and will die of starvation.

Animals are often unable to adapt quickly enough to the changes that occur as a result of wildfires and deforestation, leading to loss of life. For example, a single wildfire in South America can cause such a massive loss of vegetation that it takes up to two decades for forests to recover again [36].

This is especially dangerous for endangered and threatened species that have been pushed into the margins of existence, with populations so small that a fire could kill the entire population.

For most animals, the loss of forest is a real shock and causes them to search for new areas to live in. Depending on their needs, they might relocate to fire-free areas or move to unburnt habitat islands near burned-out areas.

However, some animals will continue to live in the area where they had been living before the wildfires. For instance, if they were using trees for food or a home, they will likely return to that area and eat what they can.

The same is true of animals that are not as mobile or hardy, such as amphibians and insects. They will also stay close to their homes, staying out of the smoke and actively burning areas until they can return safely.

The impact of wildfires and deforestation on wildlife is a complex issue, which requires more research. As it is, few animal studies have looked at how fires affect the health of wild animals.
Loss of Habitat

Many species of animals and plants depend on habitat for their survival. Whether they live in forests, grasslands or wetlands, habitat is a crucial part of their lives and helps keep them alive. When wildlife habitat is lost, it becomes more difficult for animals to find food, shelter and places to raise their young.

Wildfires and deforestation can change the habitat that wildlife need. The former changes the amount of tree cover that can grow and support wildlife, while the latter degrades and eliminates natural habitats.

Forests play a vital role in the ecosystem by helping maintain water quality, regulating climate and providing nutrients to plants and animals. When they are burned, these forests are less healthy and are often more susceptible to drought. This creates conditions that can be dangerous for human populations and their homes.

When forest habitat is destroyed, it can be a major cause of animal extinctions. A recent study found that nearly 80% of the world’s land-based animals live in forests. The destruction and fragmentation of these forests is the largest driver of extinctions worldwide.

Another factor that contributes to the loss of habitat is climate change. It can disrupt local weather patterns and change precipitation levels, affecting how water is transported in the soil and changing the amount of food available to wildlife.

Similarly, changes in the hydrological cycle can affect the water quality of rivers, lakes and wetlands. Water can become muddy and harder to drink, or it can bury amphibian and fish eggs before they hatch.

In addition, deforestation alters the size and number of plant species in the area, making it harder for certain wildlife to thrive. This means that they may be unable to locate suitable prey and can be starved of nutrition, leading to death.

While the impact of fires on forest isn’t always bad, some of them are necessary for the health of wildlife and the landscape. Periodic low-intensity fires can speed up the process of decomposition, improve the diversity of plants and increase habitat for animals.

A recent study showed that a large proportion of the global forest loss due to fire is associated with deforestation. Researchers used remote sensing data to look at how fire and deforestation happened in the same areas or close to each other.
Loss of Water

Wildfires and deforestation can reduce the amount of water available for drinking, agricultural use, and industrial production. This means that communities could lose access to clean water, which can be critical to health and livelihoods.

Deforestation also reduces the ability of forests to withstand fire and drought. Forests hold water for longer periods of time, help moderate water flow and release it more slowly, minimize soil erosion, and provide habitat for many species. Without these benefits, water availability in the area becomes more erratic and vulnerable to droughts or wildfires.

This is especially true in the Amazon. In fact, it is one of the reasons why President Bolsonaro has called fires in the Amazon a “global political crisis”.

In addition, the Amazon’s rainforest absorbs and stores millions of tons of carbon dioxide, which is a key greenhouse gas. When trees are removed, they release this trapped carbon into the air and increase global warming.

Increasing occurrence of catastrophic mega-fires has heightened concern regarding the impacts of wildfires on aquatic ecosystems, recreational water use, and municipal water supply. This has led to many new initiatives and efforts to reduce the risk of wildfires on high quality water originating from forested landscapes.

However, more comprehensive research is needed to understand how wildfires impact the chemical and physical characteristics of water, particularly its source, to develop effective adaptation and mitigation strategies that can protect globally critical water supplies originating in forested environments.

A recent study examined the relationship between deforestation and water access in Malawi. The researchers found that 14 percent of the country’s forest cover was lost between 2000 and 2010, which resulted in a drop in access to safe drinking water by 9 percent. wildfire

The study showed that deforestation can significantly affect household access to clean water, especially in remote areas with little or no electricity. This is because the water used for cooking and bathing in these locations may not be as clean, or it could have a higher concentration of chemicals such as arsenic.

In addition, fires are an important driver of nutrient concentrations in lakes and rivers. Nutrients like nitrate and phosphate, which are essential to aquatic life, can be released during fires. These can lead to eutrophication, which is a condition in which water quality gets so bad that it becomes toxic. This has consequences for human health and ecosystems worldwide.