Wildfires in California, exacerbated by human-driven climate change, are getting more severe. To better manage them, there's a growing need to know exactly what fuels the blazes after they ignite. In a study published in Environmental Research Letters, Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine report that one of the chief fuels of wildfires in California's Sierra Nevada mountains is the decades-old remains of large trees.
Earth system science Ph.D. candidate Audrey Odwuor stands amidst a controlled burn experiment at the UC Berkeley-run Blodgett Forest Research Station in the Sierra Nevada mountains. New research led by Odwuor could help inform the way California performs controlled burns in the future. Credit: James Randerson / UCI
Researchers have known for decades that an increasing number of trees and an increasing abundance of dead plant matter on forest floors are the things making California wildfires more severe—but until now it was unclear what kinds of plant debris contribute most to a fire. Different fuel types, explained Czimczik, have different radiocarbon signatures, such that when they analyzed the smoke they discovered radiocarbon values associated with large fuel sources like fallen tree logs.
The preponderance of large-diameter fuels is new in western forests."We're really in a situation that's a consequence of both management strategies and climate warming since European-American settlement began in California," Odwuor said."These fuels are building up on theIt's information that could help California better manage its wildfires, according to Odwuor.
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