What impact will mountain fires have on the climate and environment around the world in the long run?

Forest fire is the first of the three natural disasters (diseases, insect pests and fires) that destroy forests, and it has caused great harm to the ecosystem and the environment. Here's a hundred safety nets to introduce what kind of harm forest fire will do to the environment.

1. Burning down trees

Once a forest is caught in a fire, the most intuitive hazard is to burn or burn the trees. On the one hand, it reduces the forest stock, on the other hand, it also seriously affects the forest growth. Forest is a renewable resource with a long growth cycle, and it takes a long time to recover after a fire. Especially after high-intensity and large-scale forest fires, it is difficult for forests to recover their original appearance, and they are often replaced by low-priced forests or shrubs. If it is repeatedly harmed by fire, it will become a wasteland or even a bare land. For example, after the "5.6" catastrophic forest fire in 1987, the forests distributed in steep slopes were basically turned into grassy slopes after severe fire, and the ecological environment was seriously damaged. It is almost impossible to restore the forests.

2. Burn down the undergrowth plant resources

Besides providing wood, forests also contain abundant wild plant resources. For example, "Red Bean" (Vaccinium uliginosum) and "Dushi Vaccinium uliginosum" in Daxinganling forest region of Northeast China are very nutritious wild fruits, and natural green foods such as red bean fruit tea and Dushi fruit wine have been developed, which are favored by consumers. The "Beiqi Shencha" made from Astragalus membranaceus is famous at home and abroad for its rich nutrition, no pollution and strong nourishing function. Ginseng, ganoderma lucidum and acanthopanax senticosus in Changbai Mountain forest area are precious medicinal materials. Camptothecin can be extracted from Camptotheca acuminata in southern China, which is a good drug for treating cancer. Lacquer trees can be processed into lacquer; Eucalyptus oil extracted from eucalyptus is the best raw material for making soap and essence, and so on. All these forest by-products have important commodity value and economic benefits. However, forest fires can burn these precious wild plants, or change their living environment after fire interference, so that their numbers are significantly reduced, and even some species are extinct.

3. Endangering Wild Animals

The forest is the home of all kinds of rare birds and animals. After forest fires, it will destroy the environment where wild animals live, and sometimes even directly burn and burn wild animals. Due to forest destruction caused by fire and other reasons, many species of wild animals in China have become extinct or endangered. Dozens of precious birds and animals, such as wild horses, high-nosed antelopes, Xinjiang tigers, rhinoceros, dolphin deer, ibis, yellow-bellied pheasant and Taiwan Province silver pheasant, have become extinct. In addition, national protected animals such as giant panda, Siberian tiger, gibbon, golden monkey, wild elephant, wild camel and Hainan deer are also in danger of extinction if they are not protected. Therefore, the prevention and control of forest fires not only protects the forest itself, but also protects wild animals, thus protecting the diversity of biological species.

4. Causes soil erosion

Forests have the functions of water conservation and soil and water conservation. According to estimates, each hectare of forest land can store 3 cubic meters more water than no forest land. The water storage capacity of 3, hectares of forest is equivalent to a small reservoir of 1 million cubic meters. Therefore, the forest has the reputation of "green reservoir". In addition, the mechanical action of branches and leaves of forest trees and forest bed (ground cover layer) greatly slows down the impact of rain on the surface; The spongy litter layer on the surface of forest land not only has the impact of rain, but also can absorb a lot of water; In addition, the huge root system of the forest fixes the soil, which makes the phenomenon of soil erosion rarely occur in the forest land. However, after the forest fire, this function of the forest will be significantly weakened, and even disappear in serious cases. Therefore, serious forest fires can not only cause soil erosion, but also cause natural disasters such as flash floods and mudslides.

5. Reduce the water quality of the downstream rivers

Forests are mostly distributed in mountainous areas, with high mountains and steep slopes. Once a fire breaks out, the soil erosion and loss of woodland is much more serious than that of the plain. A large amount of sediment will be brought to the downstream rivers or lakes, causing river siltation, and leading to the change of nutrients in the river, which will significantly reduce the quality of water. The change of river water quality will seriously affect the survival of aquatic organisms such as fish. Fine sediment will suffocate fish eggs and inhibit the development of fry; The increase of river flow and muddy sediment will destroy fish eggs. In addition, the black matter (ash, etc.) after the fire absorbs a lot of solar energy, which makes the water temperature in the downstream rivers rise and millions of fish are easy to get sick. In particular, fish that like to live in cold water often die in large numbers after fire.

6, causing air pollution

Forest burning will produce a lot of smoke, and its main components are carbon dioxide and water vapor, which account for about 9% ~ 95% of all smoke components; In addition, forest combustion will also produce carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, carbides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, accounting for about 1% ~ 5%. Except water vapor, when the content of all other substances exceeds a certain limit, it will cause air pollution and endanger human health and the survival of wild animals. The forest fire in Indonesia in 1997 burned for nearly a year. The smoke from forest burning not only caused serious air pollution in Indonesia, but also affected Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and other neighboring countries. Many Singaporeans have to wear gas masks to stop the harm of smoke.