Brazil as all countries suffers from wildfires. The image below shows smoke from the Amazon
basin which according to the articles I read gets into the roots and burns for
years. Drought has also cause widespread
fires. According to the article it is up
160% since September.
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST ON FIRE
Satellite of the forest fires along the Amazon River “(Smoke from wildfires covering almost all of the Amazon on August 20, 2014. For reference, bottom edge of frame is 1,000 miles and the Amazon River flows from middle left until it terminates at upper right into the South Atlantic. Image source: LANCE MODIS.)” (Amazon)
“Conditions in Context: 3 Percent of the Amazon Lost To Fire
From 1999-2010
The new fires originated in a region now known to harbor
ongoing understory fires. These fires burn beneath the interlaced root systems
of the Amazon and have been discovered to continue to smolder year-round.
During times of intense heat and drought, these fires can break through to the
surface and more intensely burn through large swaths of forestland. After
burning, they sink back into the understory, waiting for another heat/drought
trigger.
Last year, NASA published a study which found that fully 3 percent of the Amazon had likely been lost to fires during the period of 1999-2010. A primary culprit for these losses was found to be understory fires, which NASA identified as a significant threat to the Amazon forest system” (Amazon)
(3 percent or 33,500 square miles of a 1.2 million square
mile area under investigation burned from 1999-2010 according to a 2013 NASA
study. Location of fires indicated in orange.) (Amazon)
“Perhaps most significantly, the NASA study implicated
climate change as the primary cause for these fires, finding that drought and
heatwaves related to increases in human heat trapping gasses had depleted
ground moisture levels, resulting in a greatly increased instance of fires.
Post 2010, the satellite record indicates that these fires
have continued to grow in intensity. And so the risk to the Amazon expands.
Overall, the Amazon currently stores about 120 gig tons of
carbon. It represents about 10% of the global uptake of carbon from the
atmosphere through forest tree and plant respiration. But as the Amazon burns
and becomes deforested, it shifts from being a carbon absorber to a carbon
emitter. Currently, depleted and burning areas of the Amazon are estimated to
emit 500 megatons of CO2 each year. And though this has not yet tipped the
balance to make the Amazon a net carbon emitter, human climate change and
deforestation is driving the world’s largest rainforest rapidly in that
direction.
Under human driven climate change and deforestation, the
heat and drought situation will only worsen for Brazil. Even without clear
cutting, the fires will expand and, eventually, the rainforest will be
consumed. Without substantial mitigation action by humans, it is bound to
happen. The vast carbon store that is the rainforest will almost certainly
begin adding to the already rapacious human heating effect. A process that will
continue for decades and will only end once the rainforest is gone entirely”
(Amazon)
Brazil experiences sharp rise in
forest fires. (Photo: AFP)
Published 12 September 2014 (15 hours 46 minutes ago)
New data published by the Brazilian National Institute for
Space Research indicates a 160 percent increase in forest fires during
September.
According to a new satellite data collected by the National
Institute for Space Research (INPE) found that in September there were 15,622
forest fires across Brazil, which marks an increase of over 160 percent
compared to the same period in 2013.
The increase in forest fires is believed to be caused by a
combination of slash-and-burn agricultural techniques, declining levels of
precipitation and deforestation, which in turn, creates much drier conditions
due to exposure to the wind and sun, increasing the risk of wildfires spreading
inside the forest.
Due to the impacts of climate change, change is expected to
warm the air in the Amazon region by several degrees and substantially reduce
regional precipitation, making understanding the interactions between droughts
and fires even more important.
As a result of the findings, the Brazilian Institute of
Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) has recommended efforts to
install natural firebreaks as well as providing land management courses to
local populations.
Despite the sharp increase in forest fires, a 2014 report by
the Union Of Concerned Scientists found that 80 percent of the original Amazon
forest remains standing, and deforestation rates in Brazil are down 70 percent
in 2013 compared with the 1996–2005 average.
(www.telesurtv.net)
The data also revealed that Mato Grosso is the state most
affected by fires, followed by Para and Maranhao. Together, the three states
have accounted for nearly 44 percent of all outbreaks during September.
Brazil wildfires threaten homes and national parks 15 August 2010 Last updated at 08:31 BST Emergency services in Brazil are struggling
to control wildfires that have destroyed large areas of national parks and
hundreds of homes in the north and east of the country.
Brazil's National
Space Research Institute said there had been a three-fold increase this year in
the number of fires threatening rural areas in five states.Paulo Cabral reports
from Sao Paulo. (BBC)
Amazon Rainforest
Wildfires Scorch Through Drought-Plagued Brazil During Southern Hemisphere
Winter, Aug. 20, 2014, https://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/.../amazon-rainforest-wildfires-scorch...
Links from above site:
BBC, Brazil’s fight against forest fires, www.dw.de/brazils-fight-against-forest-fires/a-17060905
, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDcQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dw.de%2Fbrazils-fight-against-forest-fires%2Fa-17060905&ei=EpZXVZ6hH8WKyAT9q4CgDg&usg=AFQjCNHz_IjkxpqwfP2VEGmTS3yb0fuFEQ&bvm=bv.93564037,d.aWw
www.telesurtv.net/.../-Brazil-Sees-Increase-in-Forest-Fires--20140913-0002...Sep
12, 2014 - New data published by the Brazilian National Institute for Space
Research indicates a 160 percent increase in forest fires during September, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CDMQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telesurtv.net%2Fenglish%2Fnews%2F-Brazil-Sees-Increase-in-Forest-Fires--20140913-0002.html&ei=EpZXVZ6hH8WKyAT9q4CgDg&usg=AFQjCNE9xnIA7jdxuirugUSsA66CSKvNew&bvm=bv.93564037,d.aWw
Good morning,Linda. Our countries suffer the same fate. In fact, all the Latin American countries affected,:Argentina is going thru a severe drought and at the same time battling huge wildfires, One fire has destroyed one of Argentina's oldest National forests. The trees in this forest took centuries to develop like the forests in Yosemite National Park.and our great Redwood Forests. With the weather conditions our country's have been experiencing there will be more devastation in the near future.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I always used to imagine the "rain forest" to be immune from wildfires. I figured they were more common in dry, regions with cold winters and hot summers. Interesting to see how the density of the trees and roots leads to fires that burn underground year round. Unfortunate that the rising temperatures and drought conditions are causing this region to experience such a rapid increase in wildfires.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I always used to imagine the "rain forest" to be immune from wildfires. I figured they were more common in dry, regions with cold winters and hot summers. Interesting to see how the density of the trees and roots leads to fires that burn underground year round. Unfortunate that the rising temperatures and drought conditions are causing this region to experience such a rapid increase in wildfires.
ReplyDelete