The Four Main Causes Of Wildfires

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Imagine driving down the road and looking over to see a field burning in flames, animals dodging the heat and running for their lives, you just witnessed a wildfire. Wildfires happen everywhere. They can start by natural cause or even human cause. A wildfire is defined as an uncontrolled fire usually in places of high vegetation, such as forest, and in places with lots of wind.
Wildfires are ‘quasi-natural’ hazards, meaning that they are not entirely natural features. They can also be caused by human error as well. The four major causes of wildfire ignitions are lightning, volcanic eruptions, sparks from rockfalls, and spontaneous combustion. The thousands of coal seam fires that are burning around the world, such as those in Centralia, Burning …show more content…
Some plants species depend on the effects of the fire for growth and reproduction. Some benefits that wildfires have on the environment is cleaning the forest floor, providing habitat, killing diseases, and new generations. Wildfires help clean the forest floor by removing low-growing underbrush, cleans the debris on the forest floor, opens the forest up to sunlight, and also helps nourish the soil. Also, wildfires burn any unnecessary vegetation growing in the forest. The wildfires provide habitat to forest animals, and birds. The wildfires clean the heavy brush, making it easier for small animals to find plants and brush to build their home. Wildfires leave room for new grasses and vegetation to grow. They regenerate shrubs that provide food and habitat for many animals. With fewer plants absorbing water due to the wildfire, the water supply increases. Streams are fuller, benefiting other types of plants and animals. The wildfires kill diseases and insects that prey on trees and provides valuable nutrients that enrich the soil. Many forests struggle against diseases such as pitch canker and bark beetle infestations, which is pests that destroy the part of the tree that delivers nutrients to the roots, leaves and needles. Vegetation that is burned by fire provides a rich source of nutrients that nourish remaining trees. Some species of trees and plants are actually fire dependent. They must have fire in order for life to continue. Some trees have fire resistant bark and cones that require heat to open and release seeds for regeneration. Chaparral plants, including chamise, manzanita, and scrub oak, also require intense heat for seed germination. These plants actually encourage fire by having leaves that are covered with flammable resins. Without fire, these trees and plants would eventually die off and never continue to grow in that
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