Wildfire is frequently talked about in any ecology-related courses. I remember in BIOL 306, wildfire we were given an example in Florida National Wildlife Refuge, where panthers mainly prey on deer for food. Dense forest without wildfire prevents panthers from seeing their preys (deer), so the population of panthers will decrease. Wildfires help open up land for panthers to see their prey, so the population of panthers will increase after wildfires as their chance of successful predation increases. Wildfire enforces the population dynamics, influences community structure, and controls ecosystem stability. Thus, we should not interfere with the natural pattern of wildfire, and what we can do is to not panic when hearing news about wildfire. I envision that there will be better monitoring of fire to help with management. However, as the frequency of wildfire increases, I hope people can realize that climate change is happening around us.
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Not all fires are reasons for panic. As we learned in class, fire is something that is natural and it is important for ecosystems. Some ecosystems require fires to come in and change things up so that some organisms thrive. I agree that wildfire patterns should be monitored, and some fires should not be put out unless they are causing damage to areas that should be protected.
Hi Shirley,
Wildfires definitely influence communities, controls and economic stability. For intervention, workshops/meetings about forest fire and wildfire awareness in local communities is definitely applicable too.
Hi Shirley, I strongly agree with the idea that we need to monitor the forest fire and forest fire trends more to ensure the natural process while prevent the natural disasters. it would benefit the ecology most. I hold the view that applying artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques could help us monitor, document and analyze the forest fire and its trends better, which would definitely help us with the management process.
Hello Shirley, thank you for listing out a benefit gained from wildfires! I feel that it is very easy to think about the negatives only due to the smoke we've had so I'm glad you brought up the good points while also making it clear, along with the example with panthers, that it must be natural wildfires that benefit us. I hope as well that people begin to take wildfires more seriously, especially before this gets too out of hand.
I had similar thoughts to you! The impact of wildfires on ecosystems is twofold, and people often condemn the environmental pollution and ecological damage caused by wildfires, but the most overlooked part is the role that controlled fires can play in maintaining biodiversity and promoting promoting the regeneration of forests. I like the example you have here which is really interesting!
I'm very much with you on this one!
What we should be doing is calm, not marching in 200 cars.
Wildfires are a natural thing, human actions increase the chances of wildfires but that still doesn't change the fact that they are a natural occurrence and like you said, we should develop better fire monitoring and post-disaster reconstruction and pre-disaster protection to help manage hill fires.
Hi shirley! I really enjoyed reading the example you wrote. Wildfires are definitely a natural and necessary thing for the planet, but sadly they are being started much more than is "natural" and at larger, more devastating scales. You are right that our attitude about them needs to shift, every wildfire doesn't need to be accompanied with mass panic. Better monitoring and management would hopefully help!
Hi Shirley, while I agree that we shouldn't panic upon hearing about wildfires, some of the time these things are both within our control and that impacts people and community around us. A year ago, a small town in BC was burned down due to its proximity to the wildfire. And while I don't know anyone who was impacted, we have to consider both communities and the ecosystem when making these tough decisions.
Hi Shirley!
Thank you for sharing that example about the influence of fire on predator-prey dynamics. Wildfire management should always take into account the relationships between abiotic and biotic processes in an ecosystem. Makes you wonder what relationships we might be missing!
You mentioned that we should not panic when hearing about wildfires. What do you think needs to change? Should news outlets report wildfires differently? If so, how? Are public awareness campaigns clarifying the difference between natural wildfires vs. super fires needed? If so, how would we make such campaigns effective?