The effects Of Forest Fires on Wetland Areas

By:Jessica Pierce October 30, 2003

Fire is a powerful force that can pose serious threats

to wildlife, property, our riparian areas, and wetlands.

They have effects not only on the forest they burn but on wildlife and ecosystems downstream.

                                              

Sabino Canyon National Park

. Though fires can be beneficial by returning valuable nutrients to the soil; fire also wreaks havoc on native fishes and plants. They cause a drastic sediment flux in small mountain streams by filling them with much charred debris.

Indicator Species, Such as Frogs can be affected.

Amphibians are major parts of wetland ecosystems, and many species are sensitive to habitat changes, including those that occur after a forest fire. Soil erosion increases after a fire. Sediment collects in streams filling in the area between rocks and stones so stream amphibians can no longer lay their eggs, forage and hide in these areas.

                                                                                                                              

Native Fishes May Disappear

Fires often cause heavy metals such as arsenic, zinc and cyanide in runoff

Fish May Disappear from an area completely but usually replenish from tributaries and conservationists after the event.

The Soot Filled Water Can also Be bad News For Local Animals

Fires In Peat-Lands Are Devastating

They create many times more smoke per hectare than other forest types, and they are almost impossible to extinguish without restoring the naturally high water levels in these swamps. The fires go deep underground and can burn uncontrolled and unseen in the peat deposits for several months

Fires In Southeast Asian Tropical Peat-lands. October 1997

Apparently seven different countries were blanketed in thick black smoke.

A whole range of industries from tourism to electronics and palm oil production also suffered because of the decrease in forest productivity.

Long Term Affects

Experts predict that the long-term impacts of this incident, which was billed as "one of the world's greatest man-made environmental catastrophes", are potentially more threatening than the Gulf War oil fires in Kuwait

These fires affected a wealth of ecological resources and the economic structure of settlements in the region.

Global Impact

Peat fires may affect the whole world because the contribution of tropical peat-lands to the global carbon cycle is higher than those of most of the temperate zones. 15% of the global peat-land carbon may reside in tropical peat-lands. These prolonged peat fires are releasing a massive amount of carbon dioxide and particle matter that might contribute to global warming and have long-term effects on the climate.

Bibliography

Beaty, K.G. 1994 Sediment Transport in a small stream following two successive forest fire. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci

Berkman, H.E. and C.F. Rabeni. 1987. Effect of siltation on stream fish communities.

Bury, Bruce. Robert Gresswell.21 June, 2003. Frogs, Fish, and Fires: A New Look at Fire and Fuels Reduction Effects . U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey

Innes, Stephanie. 24 July, 2003. Aspen Fire ash dirties rain runoff in Sabino. Arizona Daily Star

Magnan, Pierre, Isabell St-Onge. September 2000. Impact of logging and natural fires on fish communities of Canadian Shield lakes. University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres

Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2 October 1997, Gland, Switzerland) Wetlands On Fire. Ramsar Archives