Rapid rise in wildfires in large parts of Canada?
Friday, December 16, 2011 - 09:30
in Earth & Climate
Large forest regions in Canada are apparently about to experience rapid change. Based on models, scientists can now show that there are threshold values for wildfires just like there are for epidemics. Large areas of Canada are apparently approaching this threshold value and may in future exceed it due to climate change. As a result both the area burnt down annually and the average size of the fires would increase, write the researchers of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the University of Michigan in the December issue of the journal the American Naturalist. The strategies for combating wildfires in large parts of Canada should therefore be reconsidered.