User:Impicklerick/sandbox

Article Critique

For the article critique assignment I chose to examine the Fire ecology page. Under "Biotic Responses and Adaptations" subheading, there was a bit of information that was tagged for needed a citation, specifically about the flammable oily coating found on chaparral plant leaves. I found a section on the National Park Service website that discussed this specific adaptation and inserted the citation on the page. At the very top of the page, there is a disclaimer saying the examples and perspectives deal primarily with North America, which suggests that additional data from around the world would make the article more complete. Using the course textbook, which includes a variety of geographic perspectives given the authors' origins, could be useful to broaden the examples and perspectives given in the article.

Add to Article

For this assignment I would like to add a paragraph to the Douglas fir article under the "Ecology" subheading. The paragraph will outline fire adaptations and observed fire regime in Douglas fir forests at multiple latitudes.

Douglas-fir can tolerate fire of moderate severity. Mature trees have thick, corky bark on the lower bole and roots, which protects the cambium from intense heat. Additionally, the foliage is mostly concentrated in the upper bole making crown fires less likely to occur. Fire regimes in Douglas-fir forests vary significantly, from every 9-12 years in the Klamath mountain range of northern California stands to over 100 years in Washington and Oregon. In some regions, the absence of fire has caused some concern that Douglas-fir is encroaching into meadows and coastal shrub.

Main Article Assignment

I have elected to write a portion of the Pyrogeography article which currently exists as a draft. The areas I will focus on are (1) the Effect of Climate Change on Pyrogeography and (2) Other Influences on Pyrogeography. I may add another subtopic or two to this list depending on the structure of the final article itself. I have found several sources to reference, including scholarly journals, a New York Times article, and multiple scientific papers discussing climate change, fire, land use changes, and how they relate to one another.

-Below paragraphs taken from draft-

Climate-Wildfire Relationships

Climate change's effect of the global occurrence of fire is a complex matter to forecast, but some quantifiable observations have been made to address this.

The impact of fire on climate change must also be acknowledged. All fire releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and as global wildfire occurrence increases, the process of climate change will be accelerated.

Other Influences on Pyrogeography[edit]

Land use change and deforestation sharply increase the risk of wildfire by providing built up fuel loads and reducing the forest's moisture levels. This has been clearly demonstrated in the Amazon Basin, where massive deforestation and changing land use has altered the vast rainforest landscape and made it vulnerable to fire. The occurrence of fire has become much more frequent in this region, as positive feedback loops between forest loss, fragmentation, and fire provide increasingly fire-conducive conditions. It is estimated that rainfall in the Amazon could fall as much as 20% due to large-scale deforestation.

References

Laurance, William F.; Williamson, G. Bruce (2001-12-14). "Positive Feedbacks among Forest Fragmentation, Drought, and Climate Change in the Amazon". Conservation Biology. 15 (6): 1529–1535. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.01093.x. ISSN 1523-1739.

"Fewer trees mean less rain for the Amazon basin" https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-01215-3 "Wildfires and Climate Change" http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/business/energy-environment/wildfires-and-climate-change.html?_r=1&