Climate Change and Wildfire Impacts in Southwest Forests and Woodlands (Climate Change and Variability in Southwest Ecosystems Series)
Wildfire requires three things to burn: heat, fuel and oxygen. If one of the three requirements is removed, the fire activity will be limited. Similarly, once a fire has started to burn, its behavior is determined by three factors: fuel (type and quantity), topography (slope and aspect) and weather (wind, humidity, and temperature). The specific weather conditions during a fire event greatly influence how the fire burns. It follows that long-term climate variability can influence fire behavior by affecting site-specific fuel conditions (fuel moisture, type and arrangement).
Revised 4/2012. Originally published: 2006.
AZ1425-2012
Keywords:
- climate change
- wildfire
- southwest
- woodlands
- forest
- drought
- research needs
- impacts
- fire
- variability
- land management
- Arizona
Publication Date:
April 2012
AZ1425-2012
Pages:
4 pp.