We can’t stop wildfires – we need to relearn how to live with them

Wildfire is an integral part of the Earth system and has been for over 400m years. It is also an important and natural part of many of the world’s ecosystems. Indeed, some ecosystems, such as savannas, would not exist without fire – although others, such as the rainforests, cannot survive with wildfires and so work to maintain a damp climate.

We have evidence of controlled fire from more than 400,000 years ago. But ascertaining the onset of our ability to kindle fire is more difficult. We certainly know it existed 40,000 years ago, but potentially as far back as 400,000 years ago.

Over several thousand years, human populations have used fire to alter landscapes, hunt for food, and for comfort and to prepare food in the home. We have learned some control over fire and also how to respect it. But over the past hundred years or so, there has been a major transition in how we view fire –- what researcher Stephen Pyne has termed the “pyric transition”.

Posted by admin on Nov 18 2018. Filed under Forest & Land. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry