Lecture Week 10: Fires in California PDF

‭ ecture Week 10:‬ L ‭Fires‬ ‭Current Wildfires in California‬ ‭-‬ ‭Over 1 million acres burned this year!‬ ‭-‬ ‭Higher than the 5-year average‬ ‭- likely to increase (seasonal winds)‬ ‭2023 Wildfires In California‬ ‭-‬ ‭Last year was a ‘good’ fire year...

‭ ecture Week 10:‬ L ‭Fires‬ ‭Current Wildfires in California‬ ‭-‬ ‭Over 1 million acres burned this year!‬ ‭-‬ ‭Higher than the 5-year average‬ ‭- likely to increase (seasonal winds)‬ ‭2023 Wildfires In California‬ ‭-‬ ‭Last year was a ‘good’ fire year‬ ‭-‬ ‭7,386 wildfires’ 332,882 acres;‬ ‭Why the vast difference in just a year?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Variables:‬ ‭- Temperatures in the summer months‬ ‭- Precipitation in winter months‬ ‭- Density of vegetation‬ ‭- Type of vegetation‬ ‭- Vegetation importance- dry crops = higher risk of fire outbreaks; wet land= less fire outbreaks‬ ‭ outhern California Biome‬ S ‭- Chaparral‬ ‭-‬ ‭Mediterranean-type Climate- mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers‬ ‭-‬ ‭25-61 cm of rain per year‬ ‭-‬ ‭Highly combustible‬ ‭Ie: the dry = more fire‬ ‭Chaparral Plants‬ ‭-‬ ‭Adapted to droughts and heat; small, sclerophyllous (hard leaf) leaves‬ ‭- Adaptation to reduce water loss‬ ‭-‬ ‭Mostly shrubs with some low-lying herbs and grasses‬ ‭-‬ ‭Occasional trees‬ ‭- Coastal Sage Scrub‬ ‭-‬ ‭Lower shrub, more open space‬ ‭-‬ ‭In and around floods plains‬ ‭-‬ ‭Lots of rare, threatened, and endangered species‬ ‭-‬ ‭Burn and flood-tolerant‬ ‭Southern California Burning Down‬ ‭- Does chaparral have to burn?‬ ‭-‬ ‭NO!- but fire-adapted‬ ‭-‬ ‭Crown-sprouting: spouting from stem bases‬ ‭-‬ ‭Soil-stored seed: germination is stimulated by heat or by chemicals in smoke or charred‬ ‭wood‬ ‭- roots underground allow plants to regrow‬ ‭Fire Recycling‬ ‭- Fires renew the biome by clearing out the old vegetation?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Old-growth chaparral continues to be a productive ecosystem‬ ‭-‬ ‭New growth in its upper canopy every year‬  -‭ ‬ ‭ ome chaparral plants require the leaf litter shade‬ S ‭-‬ ‭Nutrients can be recycled following a fire‬ ‭- germination after the fire but‬ ‭Natural Fire Intervals‬ ‭- Natural fire intervals‬ ‭-‬ ‭The natural fire return interval for chaparral is between 30 to 150 years or more‬ ‭-‬ ‭Older Chaparral is NOT more fire-prone‬ ‭- However, fire in chaparral still occurs every year in California‬ ‭Human Impacted Fire intervals‬ ‭- Human Impacts‬ ‭-‬ ‭Urbanization is in Chaparral habitats‬ ‭-‬ ‭Fires now occur more frequently, and most are human-caused‬ ‭- Urban areas with plentiful sources of ignition are near wildlands‬ ‭-‬ ‭Habitat cannot recover between fires‬ ‭- Leads to increased colonization of non-native grasses‬ ‭ex) invasive plant species- species don’t feed on those plants leading them to move‬ ‭elsewhere‬ ‭Changing Climate‬ ‭-‬ ‭Higher temperature‬ ‭-‬ ‭Drought‬ ‭- Frequency of La Nina and El Nino events‬ ‭- expected to have La Nina in 2024‬ ‭Fire Speed‬ ‭- All Fires move at the same speed?‬ ‭-‬ ‭A leading cause of fires spreading is wind‬ ‭-‬ ‭Crown fires/Canopy fires are faster than ground fires‬ ‭- cause: rapid winds and sadly bunnies‬ ‭Fire Impacts‬ ‭- Fire only impacts local communities‬ ‭-‬ ‭Smoke and ash are blown long distances‬ ‭- 1000s of miles depending on size of fire‬ ‭- Smoke exposure causes health issues‬ ‭-‬ ‭Animals lose Habitat‬ ‭- animals and plants die‬ ‭Slowing Down Fires‬ ‭-‬ ‭Fire breaks‬ ‭-‬ ‭Fuel reduction management‬ ‭- Clear area around homes- clear vegetation‬ ‭- Controlled burns‬ ‭- ex; Indigenous practices‬ ‭After Wildfires‬ ‭- Flooding‬ ‭-‬ ‭Grasses allow for more erosion‬  ‭-‬ ‭ erbaceous plants are more prone to soil slippage and slope failure during high-intensity‬ H ‭rainstorms‬ ‭- Due to decay of deep shrub roots‬ ‭ ecture Week 11:‬ L ‭Getting People to Care‬ ‭- Who is the first to face environmental challenges?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Marginalized communities‬ ‭- limited ability to manipulate the environment- AC,‬ ‭-‬ ‭Low-income communities‬ ‭-‬ ‭Coastal communities‬ ‭- sea-level rise; storms‬ ‭-‬ ‭Alpine communities‬ ‭- ice is melting- finding bodies‬ ‭- faced with storms, pollution,‬ ‭What has led people to care about nature?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Looked into nature experience measure‬ ‭- investigate why people go outdoors‬ ‭How do we get people to experience nature?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Community events‬ ‭- Black Birder week‬ ‭- Black Girls Hike‬ ‭-‬ ‭Early exposure‬ ‭- important‬ ‭- Kids on field trips‬ ‭- Urban ecology‬ ‭- local park, school quad, Zoos‬ ‭How do we get people to care about climate change?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Cultural phenomenon‬ ‭- United States and Western Europe have too much distance to the climate crisis‬ ‭- Too much money to experience climate change like Puerto Rico‬ ‭- White neighborhoods 11xs more green space‬ ‭- Disconnected from relationship between nature, food, and survival‬ ‭- Thinking long-term- instead of thinking that it’ll happen yrs-yrs later‬ ‭-‬ ‭Psychological barriers‬ ‭- have guilt/feelings over certain situations like:‬ ‭- Distance‬ ‭- ‘not my problem’‬ ‭- Doom‬ ‭- ‘inflict fear to people’‬ ‭- Dissonance‬ ‭- Denial‬ ‭- Identity‬ ‭How do we reframe the climate crisis?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Try to be positive- underdog story‬ ‭-‬ ‭Stories of success and natures resiliency‬ ‭- Yellowstone wolves‬ ‭-‬ ‭Partnerships with nature‬ ‭- working with Indigenous peoples‬ ‭Video Notes:‬ ‭-‬ ‭Reintroduction of wolves can positively impact the ecosystem‬ ‭- re-introduction of solutions to help positively impact our environment‬ ‭- improve‬ ‭Who makes the decisions?‬ ‭-‬ ‭Elected officials‬ ‭- State-level (officials)‬ ‭- Federal level‬ ‭-‬ ‭Voters‬ ‭- ex) Prop 4:‬ ‭Rose institute.org - Look into the pros and cons of propositions‬ ‭Joe Biden-officials:‬ ‭-‬ ‭Reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels in 2030‬ ‭-‬ ‭Reaching 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035‬ ‭-‬ ‭Achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050‬ ‭-‬ ‭Delivering 40% of the benefits from federal invests in climate and clean energy to‬ ‭disadvantaged communities‬ ‭- U.S. use green energy‬ ‭-‬ ‭Increase of clean energy jobs‬