Lecture Week 10: Fires in California PDF
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This document details lecture notes on the topic of wildfires in California. It analyses the variables impacting wildfires, vegetation types, and the effects of wildfires on the environment. The lecture also covers changes in climate, fire speed, impacts, and slowing measures for fires.
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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
