Wildfires Flashcards
what is a wildfire
a large destructive fire that spreads quickly over woodland/bush areas
wildfires affect which environments
forests, woodland, bush, grassland, peat
where are wildfires most commonly distributed
north/central australia, usa and canada, south europe
factors that induce wildfires
dry vegetation and lightning strikes, dry season, semi-arid climate, susceptible to drought
common causes
lightning, camp fires, smoking, burning debris, accidents, fireworks, arson
for a natural fire to occur and spread it needs
an ignition source and fuel
examples of an ignition source
lightning particularly where no rainfall, human intervention in and around settlements, arsonists
human intervention
falling power lines, carelessly discarded cigarettes, children playing with matches, camp fires, agricultural fires getting out of hand
examples of fuel
sufficient quality and dry enough to burn, droughts which dry vegetation, litter accumulates
advantage of fires
can clear vegetation and aid new seed germination, stimulate growth of plants, remove insects and parasites, forest clearing to add fertility to soil
pyrophitic
species of plant that can withstand fire through mechanisms (resistant bark on baobab trees)
nature of wildfires depend on
type of plants, strength of winds, topography of area, humidity, behaviour of fire, if a surface fire
how wind affects
changes direction so changes direction of fire and adds oxygen
how slope affects
fires move faster uphill rather than downhill
how temperature affects
higher temperature means more moisture is absorbed
