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Effects of Fire Suppression Activities on California’s Vegetation
Alexander Oesterle-Pekrun
ANTHRO C12AC
Prof. Lightfoot
12/1/2020
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Introduction
This research study has been conducted to investigate the impact of fire and fire
suppression activities on vegetation in California. Since the start of the 21st century, the state has
undergone a significant increase in wildfires, in terms of both severity and frequency, causing
severe effects on society. Factors influencing these changes vary across this whole region due to
its increased area size. The ten literary articles selected for this study have helped identify these
factors and understand how fire suppression in California has impacted vegetation. Notably, one
of the most significant ecosystems restoration efforts is to manage wild-land fire. In this respect,
it has become essential to explore the consequences of fire and fire suppression activities in regions
characterized by wildfires. This research paper identifies significant impacts of fire suppression
activities on vegetation and fire regime changes in California, calling for the implementation of
effective wildfire management practices to ensure sustainable species and ecosystems.
Discussion
Wildfires in California and Vegetation Change
Fire suppression activities impact the regions that have suffered wildfire frequently by
homogenizing the landscapes. Areas that have been subjected to fire suppression activities for
more extended periods demonstrate frequent fire regimes afterward (Boisramé et al., 2017). For
instance, the Illilouette Creek Basin has suffered frequent fires for about half a century after a shift
in the strategic management perspective besides the fact that the area has undergone fire
suppression for almost a hundred years. The changing landscape exhibits varying properties,
including the emergence of vegetation patches distributed spatially as well as the occurrence of
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vegetation of different types dominated relatively. The significant impact of wildfire restoration in
a particular landscape results in substantial changes in vegetation.
An important consequence of this act is that the distribution, shape, and size of the patches
of vegetation are adversely influenced. Besides, the areas of shrub and meadow increase, and the
area of conifer decreases. Following the restoration of wildfire, the heterogeneity of landscape
increases. The impact is more overarching as the landscape remains in a state of transition even
after several decades. A fire-suppressed landscape can acquire increased diversity through
wildfires, although fire suppression activities are performed protractedly. Forest management
activities have the potential to sustain resilient and healthy landscapes in ecosystems characterized
by frequent fires by reintroducing wildfire.
Vegetation type has changed persistently due to the increased plant invasions that occurred
in the western US due to the enhanced fire frequency. The production of ‘type conversion’ and
invasion of exotic annuals have been facilitated by the re-establishment of shrub species in
southern California, determined by short-interval fires. In California, The regrowth of shrub
species and vegetation is considered to be vulnerable due to short internal wildfires. It has been
found that type conversion in Chaparral has not been a problem for persistence and that Chaparral
type conversion can be considered as a complex and rare phenomenon of the landscape (Meng et
al., 2014).
By combining the wildfire dataset presenting historical figures and the remote-sensing data
that relates to coastal southern California, and by making a comparison of the areas burned twice
with the areas that are located in the adjacent areas and have been burnt only once, Chaparral
recovery was tested for the effectiveness of short interval fires. In elevation areas at the lower
