Half of the world’s yearly fire-charred landscapes are attributed to deliberate and controlled burns, as opposed to wildfires ignited by lightning, mishaps, or deliberate acts of arson, according to recent research findings. This discovery implies that the projected escalation in wildfire-affected land as the planet’s temperature rises will likely exceed the current estimates generated by computer simulations.
‘We might have seriously underestimated the amount of burning that occurs globally,’ remarks Sander Veraverbeke, a co-author of the study from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. ‘The increase in deliberate burning is larger than the increase in area burned by wildfires, which is a trend that has been ongoing for a long time.’
This study, published in the journal ‘Nature Sustainability,’ analyzed satellite data monitoring global fire activity over two decades. The researchers classified fires as either human-caused or natural, based on their ignition sources. Their results indicate that managed fires account for approximately 50% of the global burned area each year, with human-caused wildfires representing the remaining 50%.
Managed fires, also known as prescribed burns or controlled burns, are intentionally set under controlled conditions to achieve specific land management objectives. These fires are commonly used in forestry, agriculture, and conservation to reduce hazardous fuel loads, enhance biodiversity, and promote vegetation growth.
