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Jiang P, Li Y, Tong MK, Ha S, Gaw E, Nie J, Mendola P, Wang M. Wildfire particulate exposure and risks of preterm birth and low birth weight in the Southwestern United States. Public Health 2024; 230:81-88. [PMID: 38518428 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Wildfire air pollution is a growing concern on human health. The study aims to assess the associations between wildfire air pollution and pregnancy outcomes in the Southwestern United States. STUDY DESIGN This was a retrospective cohort study. METHODS Birth records of 627,404 singleton deliveries in 2018 were obtained in eight states of the Southwestern United States and were linked to wildfire-sourced fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and their constituents (black carbon [BC] and organic carbon [OC]) during the entire gestational period. A double-robust logistic regression model was used to assess the associations of wildfire-sourced PM2.5 exposures and preterm birth and term low birth weight, adjusting for non-fire-sourced PM2.5 exposure and individual- and area-level confounder variables. RESULTS Wildfire-sourced PM2.5 contributed on average 15% of the ambient total PM2.5 concentrations. For preterm birth, the strongest association was observed in the second trimester (odds ratio [OR]: 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.07 for PM2.5; 1.06, 95% CI: 1.05-1.07 for BC; 1.04, 95% CI: 1.03-1.05 for OC, per interquartile range increment of exposure), with higher risks identified among non-smokers or those with low socio-economic status. For term low birth weight, the associations with wildfire-sourced PM2.5 exposures were consistently elevated for all trimesters except for the exposure averaged over the entire gestational period. Overall, the associations between wildfire-sourced PM2.5 and pregnancy outcomes were stronger than those with total PM2.5. CONCLUSIONS Wildfire-sourced PM2.5 and its constituents are linked to higher risks of preterm birth and term low birth weight among a significant US population than the effects of ambient total PM2.5.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Jiang
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Yantai Mountain Hospital, Yantai, Shandong Province, China
| | - Y Li
- Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
| | - M K Tong
- Institute of Reproductive and Child Health/Ministry of Health Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China
| | - S Ha
- Department of Public Health, Health Science Research Institute, University of California Merced, Merced, CA, USA
| | - E Gaw
- Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - J Nie
- Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - P Mendola
- Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - M Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA; Research and Education in Energy, Environment and Water Institute, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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2
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Gao Y, Huang W, Yu P, Xu R, Gasevic D, Yue X, Coêlho MDSZS, Saldiva PHN, Guo Y, Li S. Wildfire-related PM 2.5 and cardiovascular mortality: A difference-in-differences analysis in Brazil. Environ Pollut 2024; 347:123810. [PMID: 38493867 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Brazil has experienced unprecedented wildfires recently. We aimed to investigate the association of wildfire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) with cause-specific cardiovascular mortality, and to estimate the attributable mortality burden. Exposure to wildfire-related PM2.5 was defined as exposure to annual mean wildfire-related PM2.5 concentrations in the 1-year prior to death. The variant difference-in-differences method was employed to explore the wildfire-related PM2.5-cardiovascular mortality association. We found that, in Brazil, compared with the population in the first quartile (Q1: ≤1.82 μg/m3) of wildfire-related PM2.5 exposure, those in the fourth quartile (Q4: 4.22-17.12 μg/m3) of wildfire-related PM2.5 exposure had a 2.2% (RR: 1.022, 95% CI: 1.013-1.032) higher risk for total cardiovascular mortality, 3.1% (RR: 1.031, 95% CI: 1.014-1.048) for ischaemic heart disease mortality, and 2.0% (RR: 1.020, 95% CI: 1.002-1.038) for stroke mortality. From 2010 to 2018, an estimation of 35,847 (95% CI: 22,424-49,177) cardiovascular deaths, representing 17.77 (95% CI: 11.12-24.38) per 100,000 population, were attributable to wildfire-related PM2.5 exposure. Targeted health promotion strategies should be developed for local governments to protect the public from the risk of wildfire-related cardiovascular premature deaths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Gao
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Wenzhong Huang
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Pei Yu
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Rongbin Xu
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Danijela Gasevic
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia; Centre for Global Health, Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Xu Yue
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
| | | | | | - Yuming Guo
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
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Picciotto S, Huang S, Lurmann F, Pavlovic N, Ying Chang S, Mukherjee A, Goin DE, Sklar R, Noth E, Morello-Frosch R, Padula AM. Pregnancy exposure to PM 2.5 from wildland fire smoke and preterm birth in California. Environ Int 2024; 186:108583. [PMID: 38521046 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Wildfires in the Western United States are a growing and significant source of air pollution that is eroding decades of progress in air pollution reduction. The effects on preterm birth during critical periods of pregnancy are unknown. METHODS We assessed associations between prenatal exposure to wildland fire smoke and risk of preterm birth (gestational age < 37 weeks). We assigned smoke exposure to geocoded residence at birth for all live singleton births in California conceived 2007-2018, using weekly average concentrations of particulate matter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5) attributable to wildland fires from United States Environmental Protection Agency's Community Multiscale Air Quality Model. Logistic regression yielded odds ratio (OR) for preterm birth in relation to increases in average exposure across the whole pregnancy, each trimester, and each week of pregnancy. Models adjusted for season, age, education, race/ethnicity, medical insurance, and smoking of the birthing parent. RESULTS For the 5,155,026 births, higher wildland fire PM2.5 exposure averaged across pregnancy, or any trimester, was associated with higher odds of preterm birth. The OR for an increase of 1 µg/m3 of average wildland fire PM2.5 during pregnancy was 1.013 (95 % CI:1.008,1.017). Wildland fire PM2.5 during most weeks of pregnancy was associated with higher odds. Strongest estimates were observed in weeks in the second and third trimesters. A 10 µg/m3 increase in average wildland fire PM2·5 in gestational week 23 was associated with OR = 1.034; 95 % CI: 1.019, 1.049 for preterm birth. CONCLUSIONS Preterm birth is sensitive to wildland fire PM2.5; therefore, we must reduce exposure during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally Picciotto
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Dana E Goin
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Sklar
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Noth
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Morello-Frosch
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Amy M Padula
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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4
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Weheba A, Vertigan A, Abdelsayad A, Tarlo SM. Respiratory Diseases Associated With Wildfire Exposure in Outdoor Workers. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2024:S2213-2198(24)00326-X. [PMID: 38548173 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2024.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2024] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Wildfires, including forest fires, bushfires, and landscape fires, have become increasingly prevalent, fueled by climate change and environmental factors and posing significant challenges to both ecosystems and public health. This review article examines the relationship between wildfires and respiratory diseases in outdoor workers, with a main focus on airway disease. In addition to the expected effects of direct thermal respiratory injuries and possible carbon monoxide poisoning, there are associations between wildfires and upper and lower respiratory effects, including infections as well as exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A few studies have also shown an increased risk of new-onset asthma among wildfire firefighters. Outdoor workers are likely to have greater exposure to wildfire smoke with associated increased risks of adverse effects. As wildfires become increasingly prevalent globally, it is crucial to understand the various dimensions of this association. Furthermore, this review addresses preventive measures and potential interventions to alleviate the airway burden on individuals during and after work with wildfires events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Weheba
- Toronto Metropolitan University, Faculty of Science, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Anne Vertigan
- School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Speech Pathology Department, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Asthma and Breathing Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Abeer Abdelsayad
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Respiratory Division, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Susan M Tarlo
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Respiratory Division, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dalla Lana Department of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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5
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Steel BS, Lovrich NP, Pierce JC. Cultural Theory, Wildfire Information Source, and Agency Public Trust: A Central Oregon Case Study. Environ Manage 2024; 73:579-594. [PMID: 37981581 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01909-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
With the increasing occurrence and severity of wildfires in the U.S., and especially in the forests and rangelands of the western U.S., it is important to know which wildfire information sources are trusted by households and the amount of trust placed on natural resources agencies to manage for wildfire. The Theory of Motivated Reasoning suggests that people will trust and use those information sources that conform to their own value and ideological orientations. Similarly, trust in natural resource agencies' ability to manage wildfire may also be the result of cultural traits. This study uses Cultural Theory as a theoretical perspective to determine those value systems, and how cultural traits motivate people to use and trust various wildfire information sources and the agencies tasked with managing wildfire. Using random sample surveys of Wildland-Urban-Interface (WUI) households in fire-prone Deschutes County in central Oregon, the study finds that egalitarians are significantly more likely than those with other cultural traits to use and trust natural resource agency information sources, while individualists are more likely to use and trust family members and neighbors for their information. Similarly, egalitarians are trusting of natural resource managers to use prescribed fire, manage naturally ignited fires, and to thin forests to reduce fuels. Individualists are less trusting of government agencies to use the same approaches to reduce fuels. The study concludes with some suggestions for how wildfire policy makers and managers can use these findings to communicate more effectively important wildfire information to audiences with differing cultural traits and differing levels of natural resource agency trust.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent S Steel
- School of Public Policy, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
| | - Nicholas P Lovrich
- School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - John C Pierce
- School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
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6
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Schwoerer T, Schmidt JI, Berman M, Bieniek P, Farquharson LM, Nicolsky D, Powell J, Roberts R, Thoman R, Ziel R. Increasing multi-hazard climate risk and financial and health impacts on northern homeowners. Ambio 2024; 53:389-405. [PMID: 37957445 PMCID: PMC10837396 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-023-01951-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Currently, more than half of the world's human population lives in urban areas, which are increasingly affected by climate hazards. Little is known about how multi-hazard environments affect people, especially those living in urban areas in northern latitudes. This study surveyed homeowners in Anchorage and Fairbanks, USA, Alaska's largest urban centers, to measure individual risk perceptions, mitigation response, and damages related to wildfire, surface ice hazards, and permafrost thaw. Up to one third of residents reported being affected by all three hazards, with surface ice hazards being the most widely distributed, related to an estimated $25 million in annual damages. Behavioral risk response, policy recommendations for rapidly changing urban environments, and the challenges to local governments in mitigation efforts are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Schwoerer
- International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 75734, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA.
| | - Jennifer I Schmidt
- Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK, 99509, USA
| | - Matthew Berman
- Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK, 99509, USA
| | - Peter Bieniek
- International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 75734, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA
| | - Louise M Farquharson
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA
| | - Dmitry Nicolsky
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA
| | - James Powell
- Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, University of Alaska Southeast, 11066 Auke Lake Way, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA
| | - Rachel Roberts
- Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK, 99509, USA
| | - Rick Thoman
- International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 75734, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA
| | - Robert Ziel
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA
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Gutiérrez-Barral A, Teira E, Díaz-Alonso A, Justel-Díez M, Kaal J, Fernández E. Impact of wildfire ash on bacterioplankton abundance and community composition in a coastal embayment (Ría de Vigo, NW Spain). Mar Environ Res 2024; 194:106317. [PMID: 38160575 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Wildfire ash can have an impact on coastal prokaryotic plankton. To understand the extent to which community composition and abundance of coastal prokaryotes are affected by ash, two ash addition experiments were performed. Ash from a massive wildfire that took place in the Ría de Vigo watershed in October 2017 was added to natural surface water samples collected in the middle sector of the ría during the summer of 2019 and winter of 2020, and incubated for 72 h, under natural water temperature and irradiance conditions. Plankton responses were assessed through chlorophyll a and bacterial abundance measurements. Prokaryotic DNA was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene partial sequencing. In summer, when nutrient concentrations were low in the ría, the addition of ash led to an increase in phytoplankton and bacterial abundance, increasing the proportions of Alteromonadales, Flavobacteriales, and the potentially pathogenic Vibrio, among other taxa. After the winter runoff events, nutrient concentrations in the Ría de Vigo were high, and only minor changes in bacterial abundance were detected. Our findings suggest that the compounds associated with wildfire ash can alter the composition of bacterioplanktonic communities, which is relevant information for the management of coastal ecosystems in fire-prone areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Gutiérrez-Barral
- Centro de Investigación Mariña da Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Facultade de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Galicia, Spain.
| | - Eva Teira
- Centro de Investigación Mariña da Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Facultade de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Galicia, Spain
| | - Alexandra Díaz-Alonso
- Centro de Investigación Mariña da Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Facultade de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Galicia, Spain
| | - Maider Justel-Díez
- Centro de Investigación Mariña da Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Facultade de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Galicia, Spain
| | - Joeri Kaal
- Pyrolyscience, 15707, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Emilio Fernández
- Centro de Investigación Mariña da Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Facultade de Ciencias do Mar, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Galicia, Spain
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8
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Puglis HJ, Iacchetta M. Toxicity of Wildland Fire Retardants to Rainbow Trout in Short Exposures. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024; 43:398-404. [PMID: 37975555 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Long-term wildland fire retardants are one important tool used to control and suppress wildfires. During suppression activities, these retardants may enter water bodies; thus, there is a need to understand their potential effects on aquatic biota. We investigated the effect of three current-use wildland fire retardants to juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) survival in short exposures more realistic to actual intrusion scenarios. Lethal effect concentrations decreased with time and varied among chemicals (LC95A-R > 259-Fx > MVP-Fx). The lowest effect concentrations observed were 2 to 10 times above the threshold used by federal agencies to assess potential impacts to aquatic organisms following a retardant intrusion. These data can be used by resource managers to balance wildfire control with potential environmental impacts of retardant use. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:398-404. Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly J Puglis
- Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Michael Iacchetta
- Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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9
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Kennedy MC, Johnson MC, Harrison SC. Model analysis of post-fire management and potential reburn fire behavior. J Environ Manage 2024; 351:119664. [PMID: 38042073 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023]
Abstract
Recent trends in wildfire area burned have been characterized by large patches with high densities of standing dead trees, well outside of historical range of variability in many areas and presenting forest managers with difficult decisions regarding post-fire management. Post-fire tree harvesting, commonly called salvage logging, is a controversial management tactic that is often undertaken to recoup economic loss and, more recently, also to reduce future fuel hazard, especially when coupled with surface fuel reduction. It is unclear, however, whether the reductions in future fuels translate to meaningful changes to reburn fire behavior, particularly in the context of potentially detrimental effects of harvest on other ecosystem services. We used observed post-fire snag structure in four high severity burn scars located in the Western United States that had variable post-fire snag basal area (13.3-63.9 mg ha-2) to initialize a simulation study of future coarse and fine woody fuel hazard and associated reburn fire behavior and effects. We compared untreated controls to intensive and intermediate intensity harvest treatments, both simulated and actual. All treatments showed some number of years of extreme fire behavior during which flame lengths exceeded thresholds associated with wildfire resistance to control, implying that future fuel reductions achieved by the treatments did not translate to conditions conducive for effective reburn fire management. Harvested stands had less severe soil fire effects (soil heating and smoldering duration) than untreated controls, explained by lower predicted peak coarse woody fuels (CWD) in the harvested stands. At higher pre-treatment snag basal area, harvested stands better maintained CWD within the range desired to maintain ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and wildlife habitat. These simulation results indicate that, even with reduced fuel hazard, salvage treatments may still be associated with severe fire behavior for some time after wildfire, but achieved reductions in coarse woody fuels may also reduce some soil fire effects. Tradeoffs in the effects of post-fire harvest must be considered carefully in the context of forest regeneration, local conditions that govern salvage methods, snag fall and decomposition, and associated potential reburn fire effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen C Kennedy
- University of Washington, Tacoma, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Division of Sciences and Mathematics, 1900 Commerce St, Tacoma, WA, 98402, USA.
| | - Morris C Johnson
- US Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 400 North 34th Street, Suite 201, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA
| | - Sarah C Harrison
- US Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 400 North 34th Street, Suite 201, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA; University of Washington, Seattle, School and Environmental and Forest Sciences, PO Box 352100, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
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10
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Svatos EC, Falke LP, Preston DL. Disturbance and disease: host-parasite interactions in freshwater streams remain stable following wildfire. Oecologia 2024; 204:401-411. [PMID: 37486411 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05422-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Increases in the intensity and frequency of wildfires highlight the need to understand how fire disturbance affects ecological interactions. Though the effects of wildfire on free-living aquatic communities are relatively well-studied, how host-parasite interactions respond to fire disturbance is largely unexplored. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact design, we surveyed 10 stream sites (5 burned and 5 unburned) in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon and quantified snail host infection status and trematode parasite community structure 1 year before and two years after historic wildfires. Despite the severity of the wildfires, snail host populations did not show significant shifts in density or size distributions. We detected nine taxa of trematode parasites and overall probability of infection remained consistent over the three-year study period. However, at the taxon-specific level, we found evidence that infection probability by one trematode decreased and another increased after fire. In a larger dataset focusing on the first year after fire (9 burned, 8 unburned sites), we found evidence for subtle differences in trematode community structure, including higher Shannon diversity and evenness at the burned sites. Taken together, host-parasite interactions were remarkably stable for most taxa; for trematodes that did show responses, changes in abundance or behavior of definitive hosts may underlie observed patterns. These results have implications for using parasites as bioindicators of environmental change and suggest that aquatic snail-trematode interactions may be relatively resistant to wildfire disturbance in some ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma C Svatos
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
| | - Landon P Falke
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Daniel L Preston
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
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11
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Zhu Z, Ma Y, Tigabu M, Wang G, Yi Z, Guo F. Effects of forest fire smoke deposition on soil physico-chemical properties and bacterial community. Sci Total Environ 2024; 909:168592. [PMID: 37972773 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
The number of forest fires has increased globally, together with considerable smoke emission that significantly impacts the atmospheric environment and associated ecosystems. Most current studies have focused on the in situ effects of fire on the forest ecosystem. However, the mechanisms by which smoke particles affect adjacent ecosystems are largely unexplored. In this study, a simulated forest fire combustion system was developed to evaluate the effect of different smoke concentrations (control, low and high) on soil physico-chemical properties of adjacent farmland at two soil depths. The abundance and diversity of bacterial community were also determined. The results showed that smoke deposition increased the contents of total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in the 0-10 cm soil layer; however, no significant changes in soil water content (SWC) and pH values was observed. The ACE(Abundance Coverage-based Fastimator) and Chao1 diversity indices of bacterial community generally showed a downward trend whereas the PD_whole_ tree diversity index increased after 180 d of smoke deposition. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria remained stable, while abundance of Firmicutes in soil decreased after 180 d of smoke deposition. Smoke deposition slightly affected the physical and chemical properties of the 10-20 cm soil, but the range of variation of the relative abundance and diversity dominant bacteria exceeded that of the 0-10 cm soil. A significant positive correlation was found between the soil properties and the alpha diversity indices during the first 30 d after smoke deposition; the correlation then decreased gradually. Redundancy analysis revealed that Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were generally positively correlated with TC, TN, and SWC. As a whole, the study reveals that the effects of smoke deposition on soil physico-chemical properties and bacterial community depends on smoke concentration where relatively low concentration appears to be beneficial to soil bacterial community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongpan Zhu
- College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation of Red Soil Region in Southern China, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Yuanfan Ma
- College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation of Red Soil Region in Southern China, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Mulualem Tigabu
- College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Guangyu Wang
- Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Zhigang Yi
- College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Futao Guo
- College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation of Red Soil Region in Southern China, Fuzhou 350002, China.
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12
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Foo D, Stewart R, Heo S, Dhamrait G, Choi HM, Song Y, Bell ML. Wildfire smoke exposure during pregnancy and perinatal, obstetric, and early childhood health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Res 2024; 241:117527. [PMID: 37931734 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes, although less is known for wildfire smoke. This systematic review evaluated the association between maternal exposure to wildfire smoke during pregnancy and the risk of perinatal, obstetric, and early childhood health outcomes. METHODS We searched CINAHL Complete, Ovid/EMBASE, Ovid/MEDLINE, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify relevant epidemiological observational studies indexed through September 2023. The screening of titles, abstracts, and full-texts, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment was performed by pairs of independent reviewers. RESULTS Our systematic search yielded 28,549 records. After duplicate removal, we screened 14,009 studies, identifying 31 for inclusion in the present review. Data extraction highlighted high methodological heterogeneity between studies, including a lack of geographic variation. Approximately 56.5% and 16% originated in the United States and Brazil, respectively, and fewer in other countries. Among the studies, wildfire smoke exposure during pregnancy was assessed using distance of residence from wildfire-affected areas (n = 15), measurement of air pollutant concentration during wildfires (n = 11), number of wildfire records (n = 3), aerosol index (n = 1), and geographic hot spots (n = 1). Pooled meta-analysis for birthweight and low birthweight were inconclusive, likely due to low number of methodologically homogenous studies. However, the reviewed studies provided suggestive evidence for an increased risk of birthweight reduction, low birthweight, preterm birth, and other adverse health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS This review identified 31 studies evaluating the impacts of maternal wildfire smoke exposure on maternal, infant, and child health. Although we found suggestive evidence of harm from exposure to wildfire smoke during pregnancy, more methodologically homogenous studies are required to enable future meta-analysis with greater statistical power to more accurately evaluate the association between maternal wildfire smoke and adverse birth outcomes and other health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Foo
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Rory Stewart
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Seulkee Heo
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Gursimran Dhamrait
- Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Hayon Michelle Choi
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Yimeng Song
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Michelle L Bell
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
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13
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Gajendiran K, Kandasamy S, Narayanan M. Influences of wildfire on the forest ecosystem and climate change: A comprehensive study. Environ Res 2024; 240:117537. [PMID: 37914016 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires have complex impacts on forests, including changes in vegetation, threats to biodiversity, and emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which exacerbate climate change. The influence of wildfires on animal habitats is particularly noteworthy, as they can lead to significant changes in native environments. The extent of these alterations in species and habitats plays a crucial role in shaping forest ecology. Drought, disease, insect infestations, overgrazing, or their combined effects can amplify the negative effects on specific plant genera and entire ecosystems. In addition to the immediate consequences of plant mortality and altered community dynamics, forest fires have far-reaching implications. They often increase flowering and seed production, further influencing ecological communities. However, one concerning trend is the decline in the diversity of forest biological species within fire-affected areas. Beyond their ecological impacts, wildfires emit substantial quantities of greenhouse gases and fine particulates into the atmosphere, triggering profound changes in climate patterns and contributing to global warming. As vegetation burns during these fires, the carbon stored within is released, rendering large forest fires detrimental to biodiversity and the emission of CO2, a significant contributor to global warming. Measuring the global impact of wildfires on ecological communities and greenhouse gas emissions has become increasingly vital. These research endeavors shed light on the intricate relationships and feedback loops linking wildfires, ecosystem inhabitants, and the evolving climate landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kandasamy Gajendiran
- Department of Microbiology, M.G.R. College of Arts and Science, Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Sabariswaran Kandasamy
- Department of Biotechnology, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, 641004, India
| | - Mathiyazhagan Narayanan
- Division of Research and Innovations, Department of Biotechnology, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science, Chennai, 602105, Tamil Nadu, India.
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14
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Xue C, Krysztofiak G, Ren Y, Cai M, Mercier P, Fur FL, Robin C, Grosselin B, Daële V, McGillen MR, Mu Y, Catoire V, Mellouki A. A study on wildfire impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and regional air quality in South of Orléans, France. J Environ Sci (China) 2024; 135:521-533. [PMID: 37778824 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2022.08.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Wildfire events are increasing globally which may be partly associated with climate change, resulting in significant adverse impacts on local, regional air quality and global climate. In September 2020, a small wildfire (burned area: 36.3 ha) event occurred in Souesmes (Loir-et-Cher, Sologne, France), and its plume spread out over 200 km on the following day as observed by the MODIS satellite. Based on measurements at a suburban site (∼ 50 km northwest of the fire location) in Orléans and backward trajectory analysis, young wildfire plumes were characterized. Significant increases in gaseous pollutants (CO, CH4, N2O, VOCs, etc.) and particles (including black carbon) were found within the wildfire plumes, leading to a reduced air quality. Emission factors, defined as EF (X) = ∆X/∆CO (where, X represents the target species), of various trace gases and black carbon within the young wildfire plumes were determined accordingly and compared with previous studies. Changes in the ambient ions (such as ammonium, sulfate, nitrate, chloride, and nitrite in the particle- and gas- phase) and aerosol properties (e.g., aerosol water content, aerosol pH) were also quantified and discussed. Moreover, we estimated the total carbon and climate-related species (e.g., CO2, CH4, N2O, and BC) emissions and compared them with fire emission inventories. Current biomass burning emission inventories have uncertainties in estimating small fire burned areas and emissions. For instance, we found that the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) may underestimate emissions (e.g., CO) of this small wildfire while other inventories (GFED and FINN) showed significant overestimation. Considering that it is the first time to record wildfire plumes in this region, related atmospheric implications are presented and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoyang Xue
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS - Université Orléans - CNES (UMR 7328), Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France
| | - Gisèle Krysztofiak
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS - Université Orléans - CNES (UMR 7328), Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France
| | - Yangang Ren
- Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réactivité Environnement (ICARE), CNRS, Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France; Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Min Cai
- Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réactivité Environnement (ICARE), CNRS, Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France
| | - Patrick Mercier
- Lig'Air- Association de surveillance de la qualité de l'air en région Centre-Val de Loire, Saint-Cyr-en-Val 45590, France
| | - Frédéric Le Fur
- Lig'Air- Association de surveillance de la qualité de l'air en région Centre-Val de Loire, Saint-Cyr-en-Val 45590, France
| | - Corinne Robin
- Lig'Air- Association de surveillance de la qualité de l'air en région Centre-Val de Loire, Saint-Cyr-en-Val 45590, France
| | - Benoit Grosselin
- Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réactivité Environnement (ICARE), CNRS, Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France
| | - Véronique Daële
- Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réactivité Environnement (ICARE), CNRS, Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France
| | - Max R McGillen
- Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réactivité Environnement (ICARE), CNRS, Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France
| | - Yujing Mu
- Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Valéry Catoire
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS - Université Orléans - CNES (UMR 7328), Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France.
| | - Abdelwahid Mellouki
- Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réactivité Environnement (ICARE), CNRS, Orléans Cedex 2 45071, France; Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco.
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15
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Storey MA, Price OF, Fox-Hughes P. The influence of regional wind patterns on air quality during forest fires near Sydney, Australia. Sci Total Environ 2023; 905:167335. [PMID: 37748611 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Particulate pollution from forest fire smoke threatens the health of communities by increasing the occurrence of respiratory illnesses. Wind drives both fire behaviour and smoke dispersal. Understanding regional wind patterns would assist in effectively managing smoke risk. Sydney, Australia is prone to smoke pollution because it has a large population close to fire-prone eucalypt forests. Here we use the self-organising maps (SOM) technique to identify sixteen unique wind classes for the Sydney region from days with active fires, including identifying sea breeze occurrence. We explored differences in PM2.5 levels between classes and between hazard reduction burning (HRB) and wildfire days. For HRB days, classes with the highest PM2.5 mostly had a sea breeze, whereas better air quality days usually had winds aligned across the region (e.g. all westerly). The wind class with the most HRB days had low wind speeds and a sea breeze and was among the worst wind classes for air quality. For wildfire days, days with a sea breeze were also generally of poor air quality but many classes had at least some poor air quality days, most of which were during the 2019-2020 east coast wildfires in New South Wales. Some poor air quality days occurred in wind classes that sent strong plumes directly over air quality stations, spread smoke over a wide area or transported smoke from outside the region. The classes identified may be useful in scheduling HRBs, for example, identifying days with low pollution risk to conduct an HRB, or for assisting in understanding pollution risk and sending health warnings during HRBs and wildfires. Further development of the approach may allow the creation of multi-day classifications for fire managers to plan HRB ignitions over several days to ensure better smoke dispersal. Further research could incorporate other weather predictors or focus on other regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Storey
- NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
| | - Owen F Price
- NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
| | - Paul Fox-Hughes
- Research Program, Bureau of Meteorology, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia.
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16
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McGrath S, Mukherjee R, Réquia WJ, Lee WC. Wildfire exposure and academic performance in Brazil: A causal inference approach for spatiotemporal data. Sci Total Environ 2023; 905:167625. [PMID: 37804967 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
As the frequency and intensity of wildfires are projected to globally amplify due to climate change, there is a growing need to quantify the impact of exposure to wildfires in vulnerable populations such as adolescents. In our study, we applied rigorous causal inference methods to estimate the effect of wildfire exposure on the academic performance of high school students in Brazil between 2009 and 2015. Using longitudinal data from 8,183 high schools across 1,571 municipalities in Brazil, we estimated that the average performance in most academic subjects decreases under interventions that increase wildfire exposure, e.g., a decrease of 1.8 % (p = 0.01) in the natural sciences when increasing the wildfire density from 0.0035 wildfires/km2 (first quantile in the sample) to 0.0222 wildfires/km2 (third quartile). Furthermore, these effects considerably worsened over time. Our findings highlight the adverse impact of wildfires on educational outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean McGrath
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Rajarshi Mukherjee
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Weeberb J Réquia
- Center for Environment and Public Health Studies, School of Public Policy and Government, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Wan-Chen Lee
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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17
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Yu SE, Athni TS, Mitchell MB, Zhou X, Chiang S, Lee SE. The Impact of Ambient and Wildfire Air Pollution on Rhinosinusitis and Olfactory Dysfunction. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 2023; 23:665-673. [PMID: 38047993 DOI: 10.1007/s11882-023-01110-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW With increasing industrialization, exposure to ambient and wildfire air pollution is projected to increase, necessitating further research to elucidate the complex relationship between exposure and sinonasal disease. This review aims to summarize the role of ambient and wildfire air pollution in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and olfactory dysfunction and provide a perspective on gaps in the literature. RECENT FINDINGS Based on an emerging body of evidence, exposure to ambient air pollutants is correlated with the development of chronic rhinosinusitis in healthy individuals and increased symptom severity in CRS patients. Studies have also found a robust relationship between long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and olfactory dysfunction. Ambient air pollution exposure is increasingly recognized to impact the development and sequelae of sinonasal pathophysiology. Given the rising number of wildfire events and worsening impacts of climate change, further study of the impact of wildfire-related air pollution is a crucial emerging field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie E Yu
- Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tejas S Athni
- Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Margaret B Mitchell
- Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye & Ear, Boston, USA
| | - Xiaodan Zhou
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Simon Chiang
- Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stella E Lee
- Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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18
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Seale H, Trent M, Marks GB, Shah S, Chughtai AA, MacIntyre CR. Exploring the use of masks for protection against the effects of wildfire smoke among people with preexisting respiratory conditions. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:2330. [PMID: 38001501 PMCID: PMC10668508 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17274-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The impact of wildfire smoke is a growing public health issue, especially for those living with preexisting respiratory conditions. Understanding perceptions and behaviors relevant to the use of individual protective strategies, and how these affect the adoption of these strategies, is critical for the development of future communication and support interventions. This study focused on the use of masks by people living in the Australian community with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS Semi-structured phone interviews were undertaken with people living in the community aged 18 years and over. Participants lived in a bushfire-prone area and reported having been diagnosed with asthma or COPD. RESULTS Twenty interviews were undertaken between July and September 2021. We found that, during wildfire episodes, there was an overwhelming reliance on closing windows and staying inside as a means of mitigating exposure to smoke. There was limited use of masks for this purpose. Even among those who had worn a mask, there was little consideration given to the type of mask or respirator used. Reliance on sensory experiences with smoke was a common prompt to adopting an avoidance behavior. Participants lacked confidence in the information available from air-quality apps and websites, however they were receptive to the idea of using masks in the future. CONCLUSIONS Whilst COVID-19 has changed the nature of community mask use over the last couple of years, there is no guarantee that this event will influence an individual's mask behavior during other events like bushfires. Instead, we must create social support processes for early and appropriate mask use, including the use of air quality monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Seale
- School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Level 2, Samuels Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
| | - M Trent
- The Biosecurity Program, The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - G B Marks
- School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - S Shah
- Research and Education Network, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - A A Chughtai
- School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Level 2, Samuels Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - C R MacIntyre
- The Biosecurity Program, The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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19
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Pludow BA, Murray AT, Echeverri V, Church RL. Evaluation of forest treatment planning considering multiple objectives. J Environ Manage 2023; 346:118997. [PMID: 37769367 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Various tools and techniques are used by environmental managers and planning agencies to make land use decisions that balance different and often competing goals. Multiple goals, or objectives, are generally challenging to address because there is likely no single optimal solution, but rather a range of possible Pareto (or tradeoff) solutions. Considerable attention has focused on software and approaches that rely on heuristic methods to generate solutions for land use planning problems with multiple objectives. While fast and accessible, there remain uncertainties about the quality of solutions obtained by these heuristic methods and whether they are indeed meeting the needs of environmental managers. This paper explores forest treatment planning for wildfire risk mitigation seeking to balance multiple objectives when the spatial pattern of treatment is restricted. Solution quality of one widely employed forest planning tool is evaluated (using measures of completeness, inferiority, and maximum gap) under a range of geographic settings and problem sizes. The findings indicate that obtained solutions are suboptimal, and fail to represent the full spectrum of tradeoffs possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Amelia Pludow
- Department of Geography, University of California at Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
| | - Alan T Murray
- Department of Geography, University of California at Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Vanessa Echeverri
- Department of Geography, University of California at Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Richard L Church
- Department of Geography, University of California at Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
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20
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Pinto R, Ansola G, Calvo L, Sáenz de Miera LE. High resilience of soil bacterial communities to large wildfires with an important stochastic component. Sci Total Environ 2023; 899:165719. [PMID: 37482359 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires alter the structure and functioning of ecosystems through changes in their biotic and abiotic components. A deeper understanding recovery process concerning diverse communities and properties within these components can provide valuable insights into the ecological effects of wildfires. Therefore, it is appropriate to enhance our understanding of the resilience of bacterial communities after wildfires within Mediterranean ecosystems. In this research, soil bacterial community resilience was evaluated in three types of ecosystems for two fire severities, two years after a large wildfire in Mediterranean ecosystems. The resilience of the soil bacterial community refers to its ability to return to original state after disturbance. This capacity can be estimated by the study of its recovery over time. In this study we evaluated the resilience using the variables: alpha diversity, beta diversity and the changes in abundance of both OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units) and principal bacterial taxa (phyla, classes or orders). Our results showed that resilience depends on fire severity and type of ecosystem. We studied three ecosystems with different stage in the secondary succession: low maturity shrublands and heathlands, and high maturity oak forests. In general, high resilience in the soil bacterial community was observed in heathlands under low and high fire severity conditions. The other two ecosystems were resilient only under low fire severity. Stochastic replacement of the abundance of the OTUs was observed in all three ecosystems, with a notable impact on oak forests, under during high-severity conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rayo Pinto
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad de León. Campus de Vegazana s/n, CP: 24071 León, Spain.
| | - Gemma Ansola
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad de León. Campus de Vegazana s/n, CP: 24071 León, Spain.
| | - Leonor Calvo
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad de León. Campus de Vegazana s/n, CP: 24071 León, Spain.
| | - Luis E Sáenz de Miera
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, CP: 24071 León, Spain.
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21
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Chen D, Billmire M, Loughner CP, Bredder A, French NHF, Kim HC, Loboda TV. Simulating spatio-temporal dynamics of surface PM 2.5 emitted from Alaskan wildfires. Sci Total Environ 2023; 898:165594. [PMID: 37467978 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Wildfire is a major disturbance agent in Arctic boreal and tundra ecosystems that emits large quantities of atmospheric pollutants, including PM2.5. Under the substantial Arctic warming which is two to three times of global average, wildfire regimes in the high northern latitude regions are expected to intensify. This imposes a considerable threat to the health of the people residing in the Arctic regions. Alaska, as the northernmost state of the US, has a sizable rural population whose access to healthcare is greatly limited by a lack of transportation and telecommunication infrastructure and low accessibility. Unfortunately, there are only a few air quality monitoring stations across the state of Alaska, and the air quality of most remote Alaskan communities is not being systematically monitored, which hinders our understanding of the relationship between wildfire emissions and human health within these communities. Models simulating the dispersion of pollutants emitted by wildfires can be extremely valuable for providing spatially comprehensive air quality estimates in areas such as Alaska where the monitoring station network is sparse. In this study, we established a methodological framework that is based on an integration of the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, the Wildland Fire Emissions Inventory System (WFEIS), and the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) Wildfire Date of Burning (WDoB) dataset, an Arctic-oriented fire product. Through our framework, daily gridded surface-level PM2.5 concentrations for the entire state of Alaska between 2001 and 2015 for which wildfires are responsible can be estimated. This product reveals the spatio-temporal patterns of the impacts of wildfires on the regional air quality in Alaska, which, in turn, offers a direct line of evidence indicating that wildfire is the dominant driver of PM2.5 concentrations over Alaska during the fire season. Additionally, it provides critical data inputs for research on understanding how wildfires affect human health which creates the basis for the development of effective and efficient mitigation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Chen
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Michael Billmire
- Michigan Tech Research Institute, Michigan Technological University, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Christopher P Loughner
- Air Resources Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Allison Bredder
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Nancy H F French
- Michigan Tech Research Institute, Michigan Technological University, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Hyun Cheol Kim
- Air Resources Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, College Park, MD, USA; Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Tatiana V Loboda
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
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22
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Fernández-Guisuraga JM, Marcos E, Sáenz de Miera LE, Ansola G, Pinto R, Calvo L. Short-term responses of ecosystem multifunctionality to fire severity are modulated by fire-induced impacts on plant and soil microbial communities. Sci Total Environ 2023; 898:165477. [PMID: 37451468 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
This study represents a first attempt to shed light into the mechanisms that modulate the response of ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) to fire severity in post-fire landscapes. We specifically investigated the role played by fire-induced changes on above and belowground communities in the modulation of EMF responses at short-term after fire. For this purpose, we estimated EMF using an averaging approach from three ecosystem functions (carbon regulation, decomposition and soil fertility) and their standardized functional indicators in field plots burned at low and high fire severity 1-year after a wildfire occurred in a Mediterranean ecosystem in the central region of Spain. Plant taxonomic and functional richness, and the bacterial and fungal taxonomic richness, were measured in the plots as community properties with a potential intermediate control over fire severity effects on EMF. The ecological effects of fire severity on above and belowground communities were important in shaping EMF as evidenced by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Indeed, the evidenced shrinkage exerted by high fire severity on EMF at short-term after fire was not direct, but modulated by fire-induced effects on the plant functional richness and the microbial taxonomic richness. However, EMF variation was more strongly modulated by indirect effects of fire severity on the biodiversity of soil microbial communities, than by the effects on the plant communities. Particularly, the fungal community exerted the strongest intermediate control (standardized SEM β coefficient = 0.62), which can be linked to the differential response of bacterial (β = -0.36) and fungal (β = -0.84) communities to fire severity evidenced here. Our findings demonstrate that the effects of fire severity on above and belowground communities are important drivers of short-term ecosystem functioning. Efforts tailored to secure the provision of multiple functions should be focused on promoting the recovery on soil microbial communities under high-severity scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Manuel Fernández-Guisuraga
- Centro de Investigação e de Tecnologias Agroambientais e Biológicas, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal; Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain.
| | - Elena Marcos
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
| | - Luis E Sáenz de Miera
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
| | - Gemma Ansola
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
| | - Rayo Pinto
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
| | - Leonor Calvo
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, 24071 León, Spain
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23
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Adu MK, Agyapong B, Agyapong VIO. Children's Psychological Reactions to Wildfires: a Review of Recent Literature. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2023; 25:603-616. [PMID: 37851204 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-023-01451-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review aims to synthesize currently available literature regarding the impact of wildfire on mental health, specifically the psychological reactions of children to wildfires. The information gathered from this review will help health experts understand and address the mental health needs of children during wildfire disasters and may serve as a base for future studies to evaluate evidence-based public health responses to mitigate adverse outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS The results identified post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, stress, alcohol/substance misuse, hopelessness, low resilience, reduced quality of life, and self-esteem as the psychological conditions manifesting in children and adolescent post-wildfire disaster. PTSD was the most evaluated psychological reaction in the participants (7 out of eight studies). This review highlights that deleterious mental health effects, such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicidality, can persist in children for years post-wildfire disaster. Factors such as gender, direct exposure to the wildfire, re-traumatization, and resilience informed or ameliorated the severity of the impact of wildfire on children and adolescents. Our findings further emphasize the need for multi-year funding and programs to support children and adolescents' mental health, including children with disabilities in the communities that have experienced wildfire disasters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Medard K Adu
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building, Dalhousie University, QEII Health Sciences Centre, 5909 Veterans Memorial Lane, 8Th Floor, Halifax, NS, B3H 2E2, Canada
| | - Belinda Agyapong
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Vincent I O Agyapong
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building, Dalhousie University, QEII Health Sciences Centre, 5909 Veterans Memorial Lane, 8Th Floor, Halifax, NS, B3H 2E2, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada.
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24
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Ondik MM, Ooi MKJ, Muñoz-Rojas M. Soil microbial community composition and functions are disrupted by fire and land use in a Mediterranean woodland. Sci Total Environ 2023; 895:165088. [PMID: 37356774 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
The intersection of fire, land use transformations, and climate change is putting Mediterranean climate-type ecosystems at risk of soil degradation and loss of ecosystem services. Ondik et al. (2022b) showed that in a Mediterranean dry sclerophyll woodland of South Australia, high severity fire and clearing and grazing practices impacted both physicochemical and biological soil quality indicators. Building upon the work of Ondik et al. (2022b) this study aims to 1) identify soil physicochemical properties impacted by fire and land management that are indirect drivers of changes to soil microbial community composition and 2) determine whether the observed changes to soil microbial community composition affect soil microbial functions. Via a redundancy analysis, we identified fire and management-induced changes to pH, soil water repellency, nutrient stoichiometry, and total nutrient content as significant drivers of the composition of soil microbial communities. We then measured basal respiration, substrate induced respiration, and the carbon mineralisation quotient, and calculated functional trait distributions among microbial communities by linking 16S and 18S rRNA sequences to respiration modes and functional guilds, respectively. We found that fire reduced soil microbial respiration and the relative abundance (RA) of microbial symbionts, anaerobic bacteria, and microaerophilic bacteria, while increasing the RA of aerobic bacteria. Furthermore, management increased the RA of post-fire ectomycorrhizal fungi and may have reduced pathogenic load, microbial efficiency, and wood saprotrophs, while increasing litter, soil, and other saprotrophic species that are adapted to grasslands. This study shows that, through changes to microbial community composition, high severity wildfire and land management affected soil respiration rates, bacterial modes of respiration, prevalence of symbiotic bacteria and fungi, and microbial substrate preference. Having identified the main physicochemical drivers of changes to microbial community composition, we provide valuable insights into how fire and land management can impact soils in Mediterranean woodland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes M Ondik
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, 2052, NSW, Australia.
| | - Mark K J Ooi
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, 2052, NSW, Australia
| | - Miriam Muñoz-Rojas
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, 2052, NSW, Australia; Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Seville, Seville 41012, Spain
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25
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Cheng Y, Luo P, Yang H, Li H, Luo C, Jia H, Huang Y. Fire effects on soil carbon cycling pools in forest ecosystems: A global meta-analysis. Sci Total Environ 2023; 895:165001. [PMID: 37353021 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
Changes in soil carbon (C) pools driven by fire in forest ecosystems remain equivocal, especially at a global scale. In this study we analyzed data from 232 studies consisting of 1702 observations to investigate whether ecosystem type, climate zone, stand age, soil depth, slope, elevation, and the time since fire in influence of forest soil carbon pools to fire regime (fire type, fire season, fire intensity). Additionally, we explored the potential mechanisms of the relationships between multiple response variables to the fire using linear regression and random forest models. On aggregate, fires significantly increased the mean effect sizes of several key soil carbon cycling components-including microbial biomass carbon (MBC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total carbon (TC), pyrogenic carbon (PyC), soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC) by 0.77, 0.89, 0.87, 1.22, 0.97 and 0.93, respectively, compared to unburned forests ecosystems. However, the fire effects on soil C pools vary widely between environmental factors and duration, and are mediated by factors such as tree species, fire type, and soil layer. A correlation analysis displayed the effects of fire on MBC and DOC were significantly and negatively correlated with elevation. Fire effects on the forest floor and mineral soil indicated significantly increased PyC. SOC and TC in coniferous tree species are the most sensitive to fires, thereby altering important feedback relationships with the fire-vegetatale-climate system. Interestingly, latitude has a stronger influence on SOC than mean annual precipitation or elevation, indicating that variations in latitude play a significant role in regulating the amount of SOC in forest ecosystems. Overall, the results illustrated geographic variation in fire effects on soil C cycling underscores the need for region-specific fire management plans, and help us understand the responses of soil C cycling to fire in forest ecosystems, and facilitate decision-making to forest fire management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Cheng
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Peng Luo
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Hao Yang
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Honglin Li
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Chuan Luo
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Honghong Jia
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yu Huang
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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26
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Furlaud JM, Williamson GJ, Bowman DMJS. Mechanical treatments and prescribed burning can reintroduce low-severity fire in southern Australian temperate sclerophyll forests. J Environ Manage 2023; 344:118301. [PMID: 37352633 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
The establishment of sustainable, low-intensity fire regimes is a pressing global challenge given escalating risk of wildfire driven by climate change. Globally, colonialism and industrialisation have disrupted traditional fire management, such as Indigenous patch burning and silvo-pastoral practices, leading to substantial build-up of fuel and increased fire risk. The disruption of fire regimes in southeastern Tasmania has led to dense even-aged regrowth in wet forests that are prone to crown fires, and dense Allocasuarina-dominated understoreys in dry forests that burn at high intensities. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of several fire management interventions at reducing fire risk. These interventions involved prescribed burning or mechanical understorey removal techniques. We focused on wet and dry Eucalyptus-dominated sclerophyll forests on the slopes of kunanyi/Mt. Wellington in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. We modelled potential fire behaviour in these treated wet and dry forests using fire behaviour equations based on measurements of fuel load, vegetation structure, understorey microclimate and regional meteorological data. We found that (a) fuel treatments were effective in wet and dry forests in reducing fuel load, though each targeted different layers, (b) both mechanical treatments and prescribed burning resulted in slightly drier, and hence more fire prone understorey microclimate, and (c) all treatments reduced predicted subsequent fire severity by roughly 2-4 fold. Our results highlight the importance of reducing fuel loads, even though fuel treatments make forest microclimates drier, and hence fuel more flammable. Our finding of the effectiveness of mechanical treatments in lowering fire risk enables managers to reduce fuels without the risk of uncontrolled fires and smoke pollution that is associated with prescribed burning. Understanding the economic and ecological costs and benefits of mechanic treatment compared to prescribed burning requires further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M Furlaud
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia; CSIRO Environment, Private Bag 44, Winnellie, NT 0821, Australia.
| | - Grant J Williamson
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - David M J S Bowman
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
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27
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Paul MJ, LeDuc SD, Boaggio K, Herrick JD, Kaylor SD, Lassiter MG, Nolte CG, Rice RB. Effects of Air Pollutants from Wildfires on Downwind Ecosystems: Observations, Knowledge Gaps, and Questions for Assessing Risk. Environ Sci Technol 2023; 57:14787-14796. [PMID: 37769297 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c09061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires have increased in frequency and area burned, trends expected to continue with climate change. Among other effects, fires release pollutants into the atmosphere, representing a risk to human health and downwind terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. While human health risks are well studied, the ecological impacts to downwind ecosystems are not, and this gap may present a constraint on developing an adequate assessment of the ecological risks associated with downwind wildfire exposure. Here, we first screened the scientific literature to assess general knowledge about pathways and end points of a conceptual model linking wildfire generated pollutants and other materials to downwind ecosystems. We found a substantial body of literature on the composition of wildfire derived pollution and materials in the atmosphere and subsequent transport, yet little observational or experimental work on their effects on downwind ecological end points. This dearth of information raises many questions related to adequately assessing the ecological risk of downwind exposure, especially given increasing wildfire trends. To guide future research, we pose eight questions within the well-established US EPA ecological risk assessment paradigm that if answered would greatly improve ecological risk assessment and, ultimately, management strategies needed to reduce potential wildfire impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Paul
- Tetra Tech Inc., PO Box 14409, Durham, North Carolina 27709 United States
| | - Stephen D LeDuc
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711 United States
| | - Katie Boaggio
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711 United States
| | - Jeffrey D Herrick
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711 United States
| | - S Douglas Kaylor
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711 United States
| | - Meredith G Lassiter
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711 United States
| | - Christopher G Nolte
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711 United States
| | - R Byron Rice
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711 United States
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28
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Ferrer I, Thurman EM. Chemical tracers for Wildfires-Analysis of runoff surface Water by LC/Q-TOF-MS. Chemosphere 2023; 339:139747. [PMID: 37549742 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
A quantitative methodology using high resolution mass spectrometry was developed for the identification of organic compounds derived from wildfires in surface water samples. The methodology involves the use of solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by detection using liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC/Q-TOF-MS) for a group of fourteen chemical compounds (pyridine, benzene, naphthalene and biphenyl polycarboxylic acids). All compounds were successfully separated chromatographically using a reversed phase column and they were identified by accurate mass using the deprotonated species and their main fragment ions. The method produced excellent accuracies (>95%) and precisions (3-10%) for all the compounds studied. This methodology was successfully applied to the identification of fourteen compounds in runoff surface waters impacted by wildfires in Colorado in 2020. Concentrations of individual compounds ranging from 0.1 to 59.5 μg/L were found in wildfire impacted waters, with totals of ∼200 μg/L, thus showing these compounds as chemical tracers of wildfire events at significantly high concentrations. In addition, non-target analysis using chromatography patterns and mass spectrometry identification by MS-MS revealed other polycarboxylic acid isomers were also present in runoff surface water samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imma Ferrer
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | - E Michael Thurman
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309, USA
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29
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Thacker FEN, Ribau MC, Bartholomeus H, Stoof CR. What is a fire resilient landscape? Towards an integrated definition. Ambio 2023; 52:1592-1602. [PMID: 37389758 PMCID: PMC10460754 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-023-01891-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
The concept of fire resilience has become increasingly relevant as society looks to understand and respond to recent wildfire events. In particular, the idea of a 'fire resilient landscape' is one which has been utilised to explore how society can coexist with wildfires. However, the concept of fire resilient landscapes has often been approached in silos, either from an environmental or social perspective; no integrated definition exists. Based on a synthesis of literature and a survey of scientists and practitioners, we propose to define a fire resilient landscape as 'a socio-ecological system that accepts the presence of fire, whilst preventing significant losses through landscape management, community engagement and effective recovery.' This common definition could help guide policy surrounding fire resilient landscapes, and exemplify how such landscapes could be initiated in practice. We explore the applicability of the proposed definition in both Mediterranean and temperate Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona E. Newman Thacker
- Soil, Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marc Castellnou Ribau
- Catalan Fire Service, Bombers GRAF, Parc de Bombers de Cerdanyola del Vallès, Av. De Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Harm Bartholomeus
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Cathelijne R. Stoof
- Soil, Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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30
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Yee S, Spitzack J, Swanson J, Jung H, Rim D. Effect of paper filter windows on indoor exposure to particles of outdoor origin. Environ Pollut 2023; 333:121996. [PMID: 37336347 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Buildings are often located near ambient air pollution sources such as wildfire or heavy traffic areas. While windows in buildings are intermittently open for free cooling or natural ventilation, increased leakage area can lead to elevated human exposure to air pollutants of outdoor origin. The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of paper filter windows in reducing exposure to outdoor air pollution and improving indoor air quality. The physical properties of paper windows as filtration media were experimentally determined, based on which multi-zone indoor air quality and ventilation analysis (CONTAM) simulations were performed for a full-scale building. The results show that the outdoor-indoor air exchange rate of a building can increase about 100% when conventional windows are replaced with paper filter windows. Even with the increased air exchange rate, the infiltration of outdoor particles into the building was reduced about 57-77% for the particle size range of 7-300 nm. These findings imply that paper windows have potential benefits for controlling both outdoor originated pollutants and indoor-generated pollutants with minimal energy inputs, especially in cities and communities impacted by urban air pollution and wildfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suwhan Yee
- Department of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Jason Spitzack
- Department of Integrated Engineering, Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, USA
| | - Jacob Swanson
- Department of Integrated Engineering, Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, USA
| | - Heejung Jung
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Donghyun Rim
- Department of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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31
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Lou H, Cai H, Fu R, Guo C, Fan B, Hu H, Zhang J, Sun L. Effects of wildfire disturbance on forest soil microbes and colonization of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi in northern China. Environ Res 2023; 231:116220. [PMID: 37224947 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires affect forest succession and restoration by changing the community structure of soil microorganisms. Mycorrhizal formation is essential for plant growth and development. However, the driving mechanism of their natural succession after wildfire is still unclear. In this study, we examined the community structure of soil bacteria and fungi along a time series of natural recovery after wildfires in the Greater Khingan Range of China (2020 fires, 2017 fires, 2012 fires, 2004 fires, 1991 fires, and unburned). By exploring the effects of wildfire on plant traits, fruit nutrition, colonization of mycorrhizal fungi and its influencing mechanism. The results show that natural succession after wildfires significantly changed the community composition of bacteria and fungi, with β diversity having a greater impact but less impact on the α diversity of microorganisms. Wildfires significantly changed plant traits and fruit nutrient content. The changes in colonization rate and customization intensity of mycorrhizal fungi were caused by increased MDA content and soluble sugar content and increased MADS-box gene and DREB1 gene expression in lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.). Our results showed that the soil bacterial and fungal communities in the boreal forest ecosystem changed significantly during wildfire recovery and changed the colonization rate of lingonberry mycorrhizal fungi. This study provides a theoretical basis for the restoration of forest ecosystems after wildfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hu Lou
- College of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China; School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Huiying Cai
- School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Rao Fu
- College of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Chao Guo
- College of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Baozhen Fan
- College of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Haiqing Hu
- School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Jie Zhang
- College of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Long Sun
- School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin, 150040, China.
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Ardiyani V, Wooster M, Grosvenor M, Lestari P, Suri W. The infiltration of wildfire smoke and its potential dose on pregnant women: Lessons learned from Indonesia wildfires in 2019. Heliyon 2023; 9:e18513. [PMID: 37576226 PMCID: PMC10413005 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The occurrence of wildfires in Indonesia is prevalent during drought seasons. Multiple toxic pollutants emitted from wildfires have deleterious effects on pregnant women. However, the evidence for these on pregnant women was underreported. The study conducted 24-h monitoring of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations indoors and outdoors in 9 low-income homes in Palangka Raya during the 2019 wildfire season and 6 low-income homes during the 2019 non-wildfire season. A hundred and seventy pregnant women had their PM exposure assessed between July and October 2019 using personal monitors. It was observed that outdoor air pollutant levels were greater than those found indoors without indoor sources. The findings indicate that indoor PM2.5 concentrations were modestly increased by 1.2 times higher than outdoor, suggesting that buildings only partially protected people from exposure during wildfires. The concentrations of PM2.5 were found to be comparatively higher indoors in residential buildings with wood material than in brick houses. The study findings indicate that 8 out of 12 brick houses exhibited a notable RI/O24 h of less than 1 during the wildfires, whereas all I/O24 h ratios during the non-wildfire season were >1, suggesting the influence of indoor sources. Based on the estimation of daily PM2.5 dose, pregnant women received around 21% of their total daily dose during sedentary activity involving cooking. The present research offers empirical support for the view that indoor air quality in low-income households is affected by a complex combination of factors, including wildfire smoke, air tightness, and occupant behaviour. Also, this situation is more likely a potential risk to pregnant women being exposed to wildfire smoke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vissia Ardiyani
- Health Polytechnic of Palangka Raya, 30-32 G. Obos St., Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
- King’s College London, Analytical and Environmental Sciences, 150 Stamford Street, London, UK
| | - Martin Wooster
- King’s College London, Department of Geography, King's College London, Aldwych, London, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, UK
| | - Mark Grosvenor
- King’s College London, Department of Geography, King's College London, Aldwych, London, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, UK
| | - Puji Lestari
- Bandung Institute of Technology, 10 Ganesha St., Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Wiranda Suri
- Bandung Institute of Technology, 10 Ganesha St., Bandung, Indonesia
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Collar NM, Earles TA. Unique challenges posed by fire disturbance to water supply management and transfer agreements in a headwaters region. J Environ Manage 2023; 339:117956. [PMID: 37080093 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
As a headwaters region, Colorado is a critical source of water for surrounding states and Mexico. But fuel densification and shifts in hydrometeorological processes, such as climate aridification and precipitation sharpening, are causing increasingly severe and erratic wildfire behavior and post-disturbance geomorphic hazards in and downstream of its forested source water areas. Human development patterns and inter and intra-state water rights agreements further complicate resource management. This is prompting land managers to consider progressive planning and management tools to mitigate fire-related degradation of water supply and irrigation systems. This narrative review examines aspects of Colorado's geography, demography, and hydrology that make its water supply systems and transfer agreements particularly vulnerable to landscape disturbance and then provides hazard mitigation recommendations. Readers are introduced to Colorado's water supply portfolio including how water is moved, stored, treated, and consumed; why those systems are vulnerable to wildfire disturbance; and how risk can be reduced before and after fires occur. Lessons learned are applicable to other source water areas facing similar challenges. By synthesizing our review findings, we identified numerous research and programmatic gaps including the need for more interdisciplinary studies; a lack of explicit research into how disturbance-driven hydromodification may hinder the ability of headwater regions to exercise their water rights and fulfill water transfer agreements (crucial for reducing potential future water conflict); an unresolved debate regarding the potential effects of forest treatments on water yield; and the need for additional funding to roll out tools and educational programs to communities experiencing severe wildfire activity for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Collar
- Wright Water Engineers, Inc., 2460 W 26th Ave. Ste 100A, Denver, CO, 80211, USA.
| | - T Andrew Earles
- Wright Water Engineers, Inc., 2460 W 26th Ave. Ste 100A, Denver, CO, 80211, USA
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Meng YY, Yu Y, Al-Hamdan MZ, Marlier ME, Wilkins JL, Garcia-Gonzales D, Chen X, Jerrett M. Short-Term total and wildfire fine particulate matter exposure and work loss in California. Environ Int 2023; 178:108045. [PMID: 37352581 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Few studies investigated the impact of particulate matter (PM2.5) on some symptom exacerbations that are not perceived as severe enough to search for medical assistance. We aimed to study the association of short-term daily total PM2.5 exposure with work loss due to sickness among adults living in California. METHODS We included 44,544 adult respondents in the workforce from 2015 to 2018 California Health Interview Survey data. Daily total PM2.5 concentrations were linked to respondents' home addresses from continuous spatial surfaces of PM2.5 generated by a geostatistical surfacing algorithm. We estimated the effect of a 2-week average of daily total PM2.5 exposure on work loss using logistic regression models. RESULTS About 1.69% (weighted percentage) of adult respondents reported work loss in the week before the survey interview. The odds ratio of work loss was 1.45 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03, 2.03) when a 2-week average of daily total PM2.5 exposure was higher than 12 µg/m3. The OR for work loss was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.13) for each 2.56ug/m3 increase in the 2-week average of daily total PM2.5 exposure, and became stronger among those who were highly exposed to wildfire smoke (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.13), compared to those with lower wildfire smoke exposure (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.79, 1.39). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that short-term ambient PM2.5 exposure is positively associated with work loss due to sickness and the association was stronger among those with higher wildfire smoke exposure. It also indicated that the current federal and state PM2.5 standards (annual average of 12 µg/m3) could be further strengthened to protect the health of the citizens of California.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying-Ying Meng
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, University of California at Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Yu Yu
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, University of California at Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mohammad Z Al-Hamdan
- National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA; Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
| | - Miriam E Marlier
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Joseph L Wilkins
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Interdisciplinary Studies Department, Howard University, Washington, D.C, USA
| | - Diane Garcia-Gonzales
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Xiao Chen
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, University of California at Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael Jerrett
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Bowman DM, Williamson GJ, Ndalila M, Roxburgh SH, Suitor S, Keenan RJ. Wildfire national carbon accounting: how natural and anthropogenic landscape fires emissions are treated in the 2020 Australian government greenhouse gas accounts report to the UNFCCC. Carbon Balance Manag 2023; 18:14. [PMID: 37460773 DOI: 10.1186/s13021-023-00231-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting of emissions from land use, land-use change, and forestry necessarily involves consideration of landscape fire. This is of particular importance for Australia given that natural and human fire is a common occurrence, and many ecosystems are adapted to fire, and require periodic burning for plant regeneration and ecological health. Landscape fire takes many forms, can be started by humans or by lightning, and can be managed or uncontrolled. We briefly review the underlying logic of greenhouse gas accounting involving landscape fire in the 2020 Australian Government GHG inventory report. The treatment of wildfire that Australia chooses to enact under the internationally agreed guidelines is based on two core assumptions (a) that effects of natural and anthropogenic fire in Australian vegetation carbon stocks are transient and they return to the pre-fire level relatively quickly, and (b) that historically and geographically anomalous wildfires in forests should be excluded from national anthropogenic emission estimates because they are beyond human control. It is now widely accepted that anthropogenic climate change is contributing to increased frequency and severity of forest fires in Australia, therefore challenging assumptions about the human agency in fire-related GHG emissions and carbon balance. Currently, the national inventory focuses on forest fires; we suggest national greenhouse gas accounting needs to provide a more detailed reporting of vegetation fires including: (a) more detailed mapping of fire severity patterns; (b) more comprehensive emission factors; (c) better growth and recovery models from different vegetation types; (d) improved understanding how fires of different severities affect carbon stocks; and (e) improved analysis of the human agency behind the causes of emissions, including ignition types and fire-weather conditions. This more comprehensive accounting of carbon emissions would provide greater incentives to improve fire management practices that reduce the frequency, severity, and extent of uncontrolled landscape fires.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Mjs Bowman
- Fire Centre, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia.
| | - Grant J Williamson
- Fire Centre, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia
| | - Mercy Ndalila
- School of Agriculture, Environment and Health Sciences, Machakos University, P.O. BOX 136, Machakos, 90100, Kenya
| | | | - Shaun Suitor
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia
| | - Rodney J Keenan
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
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Kieta KA, Owens PN, Petticrew EL. Determination of sediment sources following a major wildfire and evaluation of the use of color properties and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as tracers. J Soils Sediments 2023; 23:4187-4207. [PMID: 38037661 PMCID: PMC10684618 DOI: 10.1007/s11368-023-03565-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Purpose This research aimed to determine if a severe wildfire caused changes in the source of sediment being delivered to downstream aquatic systems and evaluate the use of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and color properties as tracers. Methods Sediment samples were collected from 2018 to 2021 in three tributaries impacted by the 2018 Shovel Lake wildfire and from two sites on the mainstem of the Nechako River, British Columbia. Source samples were collected from burned and unburned soils as well as from channel banks and road-deposited sediment. Samples were analyzed for color properties and for the 16 US Environmental Protection Agency priority PAHs. After statistical tests to determine the conservatism and ability to discriminate between sources by the tracers, the MixSIAR unmixing model was used, and its outputs were tested using virtual mixtures. Result In the tributaries, burned topsoil was an important contributor to sediment (up to 50%). The mainstem Nechako River was not influenced as significantly by the fires as the greatest contributor was banks (up to 89%). The color properties provided more realistic results than those based on PAHs. Conclusion In smaller watersheds, the wildfire had a noticeable impact on sediment sources, though the impacts of the fire seemed to be diluted in the distal mainstem Nechako River. Color tracers behaved conservatively and discriminated between contrasting sources. Due to their low cost and reliability, they should be considered more widely. While PAHs did not work in this study, there are reasons to believe they could be a useful tracer, but more needs to be understood about their behavior and degradation over time. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11368-023-03565-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. A. Kieta
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Program, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC Canada
| | - P. N. Owens
- Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC Canada
| | - E. L. Petticrew
- Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC Canada
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Dhingra R, Keeler C, Staley BS, Jardel HV, Ward-Caviness C, Rebuli ME, Xi Y, Rappazzo K, Hernandez M, Chelminski AN, Jaspers I, Rappold AG. Wildfire smoke exposure and early childhood respiratory health: a study of prescription claims data. Environ Health 2023; 22:48. [PMID: 37370168 PMCID: PMC10294519 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-023-00998-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Wildfire smoke is associated with short-term respiratory outcomes including asthma exacerbation in children. As investigations into developmental wildfire smoke exposure on children's longer-term respiratory health are sparse, we investigated associations between developmental wildfire smoke exposure and first use of respiratory medications. Prescription claims from IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database were linked with wildfire smoke plume data from NASA satellites based on Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). A retrospective cohort of live infants (2010-2016) born into MSAs in six western states (U.S.A.), having prescription insurance, and whose birthdate was estimable from claims data was constructed (N = 184,703); of these, gestational age was estimated for 113,154 infants. The residential MSA, gestational age, and birthdate were used to estimate average weekly smoke exposure days (smoke-day) for each developmental period: three trimesters, and two sequential 12-week periods post-birth. Medications treating respiratory tract inflammation were classified using active ingredient and mode of administration into three categories:: 'upper respiratory', 'lower respiratory', 'systemic anti-inflammatory'. To evaluate associations between wildfire smoke exposure and medication usage, Cox models associating smoke-days with first observed prescription of each medication category were adjusted for infant sex, birth-season, and birthyear with a random intercept for MSA. Smoke exposure during postnatal periods was associated with earlier first use of upper respiratory medications (1-12 weeks: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.094 per 1-day increase in average weekly smoke-day, 95%CI: (1.005,1.191); 13-24 weeks: HR = 1.108, 95%CI: (1.016,1.209)). Protective associations were observed during gestational windows for both lower respiratory and systemic anti-inflammatory medications; it is possible that these associations may be a consequence of live-birth bias. These findings suggest wildfire smoke exposure during early postnatal developmental periods impact subsequent early life respiratory health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radhika Dhingra
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Drive, C.B 7431, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
- Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
| | - Corinna Keeler
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Brooke S Staley
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hanna V Jardel
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Cavin Ward-Caviness
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Meghan E Rebuli
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Yuzhi Xi
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Drive, C.B 7431, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Kristen Rappazzo
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Michelle Hernandez
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Ann N Chelminski
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ilona Jaspers
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Ana G Rappold
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USA
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Espinosa J, Dejene T, Fernández C, Madrigal J, Aponte C, Martín-Pinto P. Does helimulching after severe wildfire affect soil fungal diversity and community composition in a Mediterranean ecosystem? Sci Total Environ 2023:164752. [PMID: 37315593 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Straw helimulching was applied to an area with a high soil erosion risk one month after the Navalacruz megafire (Iberian Central System, Ávila, Spain) to mitigate soil erosion and to maintain soil quality. To determine whether the soil fungal community, which is key to soil and vegetation recovery after fire, is altered by straw mulching, we examined the effect of helimulching one year after its application. Three hillside zones were chosen with two treatments in each zone (mulched and non-mulched plots), with three replicates of each treatment. Chemical and genomic DNA analyses of soil samples from mulched and non-mulched plots were performed to assess the soil characteristics and the soil fungal community composition and abundance. The total fungal operational taxonomic unit richness and abundance did not differ between treatments. However, there was an increase in the richness of litter saprotrophs, plant pathogens and wood saprotrophs associated with the application of straw mulch. The total fungal composition of mulched and non-mulched plots differed significantly. Fungal composition at the phylum level correlated with the soil potassium content and marginally with the pH and phosphorus content. The application of mulch promoted the dominance of saprotrophic functional groups. Fungal composition according to guilds was also significantly different between treatments. As conclusion, the application of mulch could mean a faster recovery of saprotrophic functional groups that will be responsible for decomposing the available dead fine fuel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juncal Espinosa
- Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal; Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid, Palencia, Spain
| | - Tatek Dejene
- Ethiopian Forestry Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Cristina Fernández
- Centro de Investigación Forestal-Lourizán, Xunta de Galicia, Pontevedra, Spain
| | - Javier Madrigal
- Instituto de Ciencias Forestales ICIFOR-INIA, CSIC, Madrid, Spain; University Polytechnic of Madrid, ETSI Montes, Forestal y Medio Natural, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Aponte
- Instituto de Ciencias Forestales ICIFOR-INIA, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Martín-Pinto
- Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid, Palencia, Spain.
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Puig-Gironès R, Santos X, Bros V. Long-interval effects of wildfires on the functional diversity of land snails. Sci Total Environ 2023; 876:162677. [PMID: 36894101 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In fire-prone regions, fire is a major natural disturbance which shapes ecosystem function and community composition. Fire has a direct and dramatic effect on soil fauna and, especially, on non-mobile species such as land snails. The factors that make the Mediterranean Basin a fire-prone region may also lead to the appearance after fires of certain functional traits related to ecological and physiological characteristics. Knowledge of how community structure and function change along the post-fire succession will be useful for understanding the processes that drive biodiversity patterns in burnt areas and for implementing appropriate biodiversity management strategies. Here, we examine long-interval taxonomic and functional changes occurred in a snail community four and 18 years after a fire in the Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac Natural Park (NE Spain). Our field-based study demonstrates that the land snail assemblage responds both taxonomically and functionally to fire and that there was a clear replacement of dominant species from the first to the second sampling period. Variation in community composition between different post-fire ages can be attributed to snail species traits and successional changes in post-fire habitat conditions. At taxonomic level, there was great variation in snail species turnover between both periods, being the development of the understorey vegetation structure the main driver of this variation. The replacement of functional traits between times since fire suggests that xerophilic and mesophilic preferences play an important role after fire and are largely determined by the complexity of post-fire microhabitats. Our analysis indicates that immediately after a fire there is a time-window of opportunity that attracts species specializing in early successional habitats, which thereafter are replaced due to the changing conditions resulting from succession. Consequently, knowing the functional traits of species is important for determining the impacts of disturbances on the taxonomic and functional communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Puig-Gironès
- Departament de Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Girona, C. Maria Aurèlia Capmany 69, 17003 Girona, Catalonia, Spain; Equip de Biologia de la Conservació, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals & Institut de la Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBIO), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
| | - Xavier Santos
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. Padre Armando Quintas s/n, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Vicenç Bros
- Oficina Tècnica de Parcs Naturals, Diputació de Barcelona, Urgell 187, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Gao Y, Huang W, Xu R, Gasevic D, Liu Y, Yu W, Yu P, Yue X, Zhou G, Zhang Y, Liu H, Song J, Guo Y, Li S. Association between long-term exposure to wildfire-related PM 2.5 and mortality: A longitudinal analysis of the UK Biobank. J Hazard Mater 2023; 457:131779. [PMID: 37307727 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the associations between long-term exposure to wildfire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and mortality. We aimed to explore theses associations using the data from the UK Biobank cohort. Long-term wildfire-related PM2.5 exposure was defined as the 3-year cumulative concentrations of wildfire-related PM2.5 within a 10-km buffer surrounding the residential address for each individual. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using the time-varying Cox regression model. We included 492,394 participants aged between 38 and 73 years. We found that after adjusting for potential covariates, a 10 μg/m3 increase of wildfire-related PM2.5 exposure was associated with a 0.4% higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.004 [95% CI: 1.001, 1.006]) and nonaccidental mortality (HR = 1.004 [95% CI: 1.002, 1.006]), and a 0.5% higher risk of neoplasm mortality (HR = 1.005 [95% CI: 1.002, 1.008]). However, no significant associations were observed between wildfire-related PM2.5 exposure and mortality from cardiovascular, respiratory, and mental diseases. Additionally, no significant modification effects of a series of modifiers were observed. Targeted health protection strategies should be adopted in response to wildfire-related PM2.5 exposure, in order to reduce the risk of premature mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Gao
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Wenzhong Huang
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Rongbin Xu
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Danijela Gasevic
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia; Centre for Global Health, Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Yanming Liu
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Wenhua Yu
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Pei Yu
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Xu Yue
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
| | - Guowei Zhou
- Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Hong Liu
- Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Jiangning Song
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Yuming Guo
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia.
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Saberi P, Ming K, Arnold EA, Leddy AM, Weiser SD. Extreme weather events and HIV: development of a conceptual framework through qualitative interviews with people with HIV impacted by the California wildfires and their clinicians. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:950. [PMID: 37231393 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15957-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with HIV (PWH) are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of wildfires, given the need for frequent access to healthcare systems, higher burden of comorbidities, higher food insecurity, mental and behavioral health challenges, and challenges of living with HIV in a rural area. In this study, we aim to better understand the pathways through which wildfires impact health outcomes among PWH. METHODS From October 2021 through February 2022, we conducted individual semi-structured qualitative interviews with PWH impacted by the Northern California wildfires and clinicians of PWH who were impacted by wildfires. The study aims were to explore the influence of wildfires on the health of PWH and to discuss measures at the individual, clinic, and system levels that helped to mitigate these impacts. RESULTS We interviewed 15 PWH and 7 clinicians. While some PWH felt that surviving the HIV epidemic added to their resilience against wildfires, many felt that the wildfires compounded the HIV-related traumas that they have experienced. Participants outlined five main routes by which wildfires negatively impacted their health: (1) access to healthcare (medications, clinics, clinic staff), (2) mental health (trauma; anxiety, depression, or stress; sleep disturbances; coping strategies), (3) physical health (cardiopulmonary, other co-morbidities), (4) social/economic impacts (housing, finances, community), and (5) nutrition and exercise. The recommendations for future wildfire preparedness were at the (1) individual-level (what to have during evacuation), (2) pharmacy-level (procedural, staffing), and (3) clinic- or county-level (funds and vouchers; case management; mental health services; emergency response planning; other services such as telehealth, home visits, home laboratory testing). CONCLUSIONS Based on our data and prior research, we devised a conceptual framework that acknowledges the impact of wildfires at the community-, household-, and individual-level with implications for physical and mental health outcomes among PWH. These findings and framework can help in developing future interventions, programs, and policies to mitigate the cumulative impacts of extreme weather events on the health of PWH, particularly among individuals living in rural areas. Further studies are needed to examine health system strengthening strategies, innovative methods to improve access to healthcare, and community resilience through disaster preparedness. TRIAL REGISTRATION N/A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parya Saberi
- Division of Prevention Science, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Kristin Ming
- Division of Prevention Science, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Emily A Arnold
- Division of Prevention Science, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Anna M Leddy
- Division of pulmonary and critical care medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sheri D Weiser
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Haque KMS, Uddin M, Ampah JD, Haque MK, Hossen MS, Rokonuzzaman M, Hossain MY, Hossain MS, Rahman MZ. Wildfires in Australia: a bibliometric analysis and a glimpse on 'Black Summer' (2019/2020) disaster. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2023:10.1007/s11356-023-27423-1. [PMID: 37202640 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-27423-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
A wildfire, an unplanned fire that is mainly uncontrolled and originates in combustible vegetation in rural or urban settings, is one of the most pervasive natural catastrophes in some areas, such as Siberia, California and Australia. Many studies, such as standard reviews, have been undertaken to look into the works of literature on wildfires or forest fires and their effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Regrettably, conventional literature reviews failed to identify the important researchers, evolving complexities, emerging research hotspots, trends and opportunities for further research on the ground of wildfire study. The present study employs bibliometric analysis to investigate this study area qualitatively and quantitatively. The Scopus database systems and Web of Science Core Collection yielded 78 qualifying papers, which were then evaluated using Biblioshiny (A bibliometrix tool of R-studio). According to the statistics, the discipline is expanding at a pace that is 13.68% faster than average. So far, three key periods of transformation have been documented: preliminary evolution (8 articles; 1999-2005), gentle evolution (14 articles; 2006-2013) and quick evolution (56 articles; 2014 to 2021). Forest Ecology and Management and Science journals have the highest number of publications, accounting for 7.70% of total wildfire-related articles published from 1999 to 2021. However, recent data indicate that investigators are shifting their focus to wildfires, with the term 'Australia' having the highest frequency (91) and 'wildfire' having the second highest (58) as the most appeared keywords. The present study will provide a foundation for future research on wildfire incidence and management by receiving information by synthesising previously published literature in Australia and around the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- K M Shamsul Haque
- School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia.
| | - Minhaz Uddin
- Department of Environmental Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
| | - Jeffrey Dankwa Ampah
- State Key Laboratory of Engines, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Md Kamrul Haque
- Institute of Bangabandhu War of Liberation Bangladesh Studies (IBLBS), National University, Dhaka, 1209, Bangladesh
| | - Md Shahadat Hossen
- Department of Environmental Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
| | - Md Rokonuzzaman
- Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, 3100, Bangladesh
| | - Md Yeamin Hossain
- Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh
| | - Md Sazzad Hossain
- Department of Agronomy and Haor Agriculture, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, 3100, Bangladesh
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Kiel University, 24118, Kiel, Germany
| | - Md Zillur Rahman
- Department of Agronomy and Haor Agriculture, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, 3100, Bangladesh
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Sydney Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Vidal-Cordero JM, Angulo E, Molina FP, Boulay R, Cerdá X. Long-term recovery of Mediterranean ant and bee communities after fire in southern Spain. Sci Total Environ 2023; 887:164132. [PMID: 37182778 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires play a determinant role in the composition and structure of animal communities, especially for groups closely associated with the vegetation and soil, such as bees or ants. The effects of fire on animal communities depend on the functional traits of each group. Here, we assessed the impacts of fire and time since fire on the taxonomic and functional responses of ant and bee communities. We sampled 35 pine forests in Andalusia (southern Spain) that had experienced fire in the past (0 to 41 years ago). Specifically, we explored whether a) fire increased taxonomic and functional diversity and changed community composition in communities in the short term and b) fire influence (increase or decrease) on ant communities would be dependent on time since fire. We found that ant and bee taxonomic richness increased regardless of time since fire. Different approaches gave the same result, such as taxonomic diversity indexes (ant abundance, ant richness and ant Shannon diversity index), the changes in species richness in ant and bee communities, as well as the higher number of ant and bee species prone to the burned habitat than to the unburned habitat, using the Ihabitat Index. Besides environmental variables (such as the effects of different Pinus species or elevation), time since fire changed the taxonomic composition of ant communities and the functional composition of bee communities. Moreover, six of the 13 ant functional traits explored differed between burned and unburned areas, with the degree of difference declining as time since fire increased. For example, burned areas contained ant communities with more ground-nesting species and strictly diurnal species, functional traits that are characteristic of open areas. In contrast, other traits persisted in burned areas over the long term, notably a higher degree of worker polymorphism and species monogyny. Our study shows how much short- and long-term effects of fire on ant and bee communities differ; while richness increases in the long-term, some functional traits are also filtered in the short-term. We suggest that fire in Mediterranean coniferous ecosystems could have a positive effect on these groups and should not be overlooked.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Manuel Vidal-Cordero
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Av. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Elena Angulo
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Av. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain; Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Orsay, France.
| | - Francisco P Molina
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Av. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Raphaël Boulay
- Institut de Recherches sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, CNRS UMR 7261, Université François Rabelais de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Xim Cerdá
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Av. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.
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Bhowmik RT, Jung YS, Aguilera JA, Prunicki M, Nadeau K. A multi-modal wildfire prediction and early-warning system based on a novel machine learning framework. J Environ Manage 2023; 341:117908. [PMID: 37182403 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires are increasingly impacting the environment and human health. Among the top 20 California wildfires, those in 2020-2021 burned more acres than the last century combined. Lack of an adequate early warning system impacts the health and safety of vulnerable populations disproportionately and widens the inequality gap. In this project, a multi-modal wildfire prediction and early warning system has been developed based on a novel spatio-temporal machine learning architecture. A comprehensive wildfire database with over 37 million data points was created, including the historical wildfires, environmental and meteorological sensor data from the Environmental Protection Agency, and geological data. The data was augmented into 2.53 km × 2.53 km square grids to overcome the sensor network coverage limitations. Leading and trailing indicators for the wildfires are proposed, classified, and tested. The leading indicators are correlated to the risks of wildfire conception, whereas the trailing indicators are correlated to the byproducts of the wildfires. Additionally, geological data was incorporated to provide additional information for better assessment on wildfire risks and propagation. Next, a novel U-Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory (ULSTM) neural network was developed to extract key spatial and temporal features of the dataset, specifically to address the spatial nature of the location of the wildfire and time-progression temporal nature of the wildfire evolution. Through iterative improvements and optimization, the final ULSTM network architecture, trained with data from 2012 to 2017, achieved >97% accuracy for predicting wildfires in 2018, as compared to ∼76% using traditional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) techniques. The final model was applied to conduct a retrospective study for the 2018-2022 wildfire seasons, and successfully predicted 85.7% of wildfires >300 K acres in size. This technique could enable fire departments to anticipate and prevent wildfires before they strike and provide early warnings for at-risk individuals for better preparation, thereby saving lives, protecting the environment, and avoiding economic damages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohan T Bhowmik
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA; The Harker School, San Jose, CA, 95129, USA.
| | - Youn Soo Jung
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Juan A Aguilera
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Mary Prunicki
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Kari Nadeau
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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Weise CL, Brussee BE, Coates PS, Shinneman DJ, Crist MR, Aldridge CL, Heinrichs JA, Ricca MA. A retrospective assessment of fuel break effectiveness for containing rangeland wildfires in the sagebrush biome. J Environ Manage 2023; 341:117903. [PMID: 37146489 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Escalated wildfire activity within the western U.S. has widespread societal impacts and long-term consequences for the imperiled sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) biome. Shifts from historical fire regimes and the interplay between frequent disturbance and invasive annual grasses may initiate permanent state transitions as wildfire frequency outpaces sagebrush communities' innate capacity to recover. Therefore, wildfire management is at the core of conservation plans for sagebrush ecosystems, especially critical habitat for species of conservation concern such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse). Fuel breaks help facilitate wildfire suppression by modifying behavior through fuels modification and allowing safe access points for containment by firefighters. The Bureau of Land Management has proposed to roughly double the existing fuel break network in the western U.S., centered on the Great Basin. To our knowledge, no broad-scale examination of fuel break effectiveness or the environmental conditions under which fuel breaks are expected to be most effective has been conducted. We performed a retrospective assessment of probability of fuel break contributing to wildfire containment on recorded wildfire and fuel break interactions from 1985 to 2018 within the western U.S. We characterized environmental, fuels, and weather conditions within 500 m of wildfire contact, and within 5 km of the approaching wildfire. We used a binomial mixed model within a Bayesian framework to identify relationships between these variables and fuel break success. Fuel breaks were least successful in areas classified as having low resilience to disturbance and low resistance to invasion, in areas composed of primarily woody fuels, and when operating in high temperature and low precipitation conditions. Fuel breaks were most effective in areas where fine fuels dominated and in areas that were readily accessible. Maintenance history and fuel break type also contributed to the probability of containment. Overall results indicate a complex and sometimes paradoxical relationship between landscape characteristics that promote wildfire spread and those that impact fuel break effectiveness. Finally, we developed predictive maps of fuel break effectiveness by fuel break type to further elucidate these complex relationships and to inform urgently needed fuel break placement and maintenance priorities across the sagebrush biome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cali L Weise
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D, Dixon, CA, 95620, USA
| | - Brianne E Brussee
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D, Dixon, CA, 95620, USA
| | - Peter S Coates
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D, Dixon, CA, 95620, USA.
| | - Douglas J Shinneman
- U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, 230 N. Collins Rd., Boise, ID, 83706, USA
| | - Michele R Crist
- Bureau of Land Management, National Interagency Fire Center, 3833 Development Avenue, Boise, ID, 83705-5354, USA
| | - Cameron L Aldridge
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building C, Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8118, USA
| | - Julie A Heinrichs
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University; in Cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building C, Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8118, USA
| | - Mark A Ricca
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D, Dixon, CA, 95620, USA; U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, 777 NW 9th St #400, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
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Cobelo I, Castelhano FJ, Borge R, Roig HL, Adams M, Amini H, Koutrakis P, Réquia WJ. The impact of wildfires on air pollution and health across land use categories in Brazil over a 16-year period. Environ Res 2023; 224:115522. [PMID: 36813066 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Forest fires cause many environmental impacts, including air pollution. Brazil is a very fire-prone region where few studies have investigated the impact of wildfires on air quality and health. We proposed to test two hypotheses in this study: i) the wildfires in Brazil have increased the levels of air pollution and posed a health hazard in 2003-2018, and ii) the magnitude of this phenomenon depends on the type of land use and land cover (e.g., forest area, agricultural area, etc.). Satellite and ensemble models derived data were used as input in our analyses. Wildfire events were retrieved from Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), provided by NASA; air pollution data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS); meteorological variables from the ERA-Interim model; and land use/cover data were derived from pixel-based classification of Landsat satellite images by MapBiomas. We used a framework that infers the "wildfire penalty" by accounting for differences in linear pollutant annual trends (β) between two models to test these hypotheses. The first model was adjusted for Wildfire-related Land Use activities (WLU), considered as an adjusted model. In the second model, defined as an unadjusted model, we removed the wildfire variable (WLU). Both models were controlled by meteorological variables. We used a generalized additive approach to fit these two models. To estimate mortality associated with wildfire penalties, we applied health impact function. Our findings suggest that wildfire events between 2003 and 2018 have increased the levels of air pollution and posed a significant health hazard in Brazil, supporting our first hypothesis. For example, in the Pampa biome, we estimated an annual wildfire penalty of 0.005 μg/m3 (95%CI: 0.001; 0.009) on PM2.5. Our results also confirm the second hypothesis. We observed that the greatest impact of wildfires on PM2.5 concentrations occurred in soybean areas in the Amazon biome. During the 16 years of the study period, wildfires originating from soybean areas in the Amazon biome were associated with a total penalty of 0.64 μg/m3 (95%CI: 0.32; 0.96) on PM2.5, causing an estimated 3872 (95%CI: 2560; 5168) excess deaths. Sugarcane crops were also a driver of deforestation-related wildfires in Brazil, mainly in Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. Our findings suggest that between 2003 and 2018, fires originating from sugarcane crops were associated with a total penalty of 0.134 μg/m3 (95%CI: 0.037; 0.232) on PM2.5 in Atlantic Forest biome, resulting in an estimated 7600 (95%CI: 4400; 10,800) excess deaths during the study period, and 0.096 μg/m3 (95%CI: 0.048; 0.144) on PM2.5 in Cerrado biome, resulting in an estimated 1632 (95%CI: 1152; 2112) excess deaths during the study period. Considering that the wildfire penalties observed during our study period may continue to be a challenge in the future, this study should be of interest to policymakers to prepare future strategies related to forest protection, land use management, agricultural activities, environmental health, climate change, and sources of air pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Cobelo
- School of Public Policy and Government, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brasília, Brazil
| | | | - Rafael Borge
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Henrique L Roig
- Geoscience Institute, University of Brasilia, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Matthew Adams
- Department of Geography, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Heresh Amini
- Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Petros Koutrakis
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Weeberb J Réquia
- School of Public Policy and Government, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brasília, Brazil
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Hwang J, Chong NS, Zhang M, Agnew RJ, Xu C, Li Z, Xu X. Face-to-face with scorching wildfire: potential toxicant exposure and the health risks of smoke for wildland firefighters at the wildland-urban interface. Lancet Reg Health Am 2023; 21:100482. [PMID: 37008196 PMCID: PMC10060103 DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2023.100482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
As wildfire risks have elevated due to climate change, the health risks that toxicants from fire smoke pose to wildland firefighters have been exacerbated. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has reclassified wildland firefighters' occupational exposure as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Wildfire smoke contributes to an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, yet wildland firefighters have inadequate respiratory protection. The economic cost of wildland fires has risen concurrently, as illustrated by the appropriation of $45 billion for wildfire management over FYs 2011-2020 by the U.S. Congress. Occupational epidemiological studies of wildland firefighters are crucial for minimizing health risks; however, they must account for the mixture of exposures in wildfire smoke. This review focuses on four aspects of wildland firefighters' health risks at the wildland-urban interface: 1) economic costs and health impact, 2) respiratory protection, 3) multipollutant mixtures, and 4) proactive management of wildfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jooyeon Hwang
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ngee-Sing Chong
- Department of Chemistry, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
| | - Mengliang Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
| | - Robert J. Agnew
- Fire Protection & Safety Engineering Technology Program, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
| | - Chao Xu
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Zhuangjie Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA
| | - Xin Xu
- Shanghai Anti-doping Laboratory, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
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Sampath V, Aguilera J, Prunicki M, Nadeau KC. Mechanisms of climate change and related air pollution on the immune system leading to allergic disease and asthma. Semin Immunol 2023; 67:101765. [PMID: 37105834 DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2023.101765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is considered the greatest threat to global health. Greenhouse gases as well as global surface temperatures have increased causing more frequent and intense heat and cold waves, wildfires, floods, drought, altered rainfall patterns, hurricanes, thunderstorms, air pollution, and windstorms. These extreme weather events have direct and indirect effects on the immune system, leading to allergic disease due to exposure to pollen, molds, and other environmental pollutants. In this review, we will focus on immune mechanisms associated with allergy and asthma-related health risks induced by climate change events. We will review current understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the changing environment mediates these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanitha Sampath
- Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Juan Aguilera
- Center for Community Health Impact, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Mary Prunicki
- Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kari C Nadeau
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
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Wu Y, Li S, Xu R, Chen G, Yue X, Yu P, Ye T, Wen B, de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coêlho M, Saldiva PHN, Guo Y. Wildfire-related PM 2.5 and health economic loss of mortality in Brazil. Environ Int 2023; 174:107906. [PMID: 37030285 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Wildfire imposes a high mortality burden on Brazil. However, there is a limited assessment of the health economic losses attributable to wildfire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5). METHODS We collected daily time-series data on all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality from 510 immediate regions in Brazil during 2000-2016. The chemical transport model GEOS-Chem driven with Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED), in combination with ground monitored data and machine learning was used to estimate wildfire-related PM2.5 data at a resolution of 0.25° × 0.25°. A time-series design was applied in each immediate region to assess the association between economic losses due to mortality and wildfire-related PM2.5 and the estimates were pooled at the national level using a random-effect meta-analysis. We used a meta-regression model to explore the modification effect of GDP and its sectors (agriculture, industry, and service) on economic losses. RESULTS During 2000-2016, a total of US$81.08 billion economic losses (US$5.07 billion per year) due to mortality were attributable to wildfire-related PM2.5 in Brazil, accounting for 0.68% of economic losses and equivalent to approximately 0.14% of Brazil's GDP. The attributable fraction (AF) of economic losses due to wildfire-related PM2.5 was positively associated with the proportion of GDP from agriculture, while negatively associated with the proportion of GDP from service. CONCLUSION Substantial economic losses due to mortality were associated with wildfires, which could be influenced by the agriculture and services share of GDP per capita. Our estimates of the economic losses of mortality could be used to determine optimal levels of investment and resources to mitigate the adverse health impacts of wildfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Wu
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Rongbin Xu
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Gongbo Chen
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Xu Yue
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
| | - Pei Yu
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Tingting Ye
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Bo Wen
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | | | | | - Yuming Guo
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
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Barton AM, Poulos HM, Koch GW, Kolb TE, Thode AE. Detecting patterns of post-fire pine regeneration in a Madrean Sky Island with field surveys and remote sensing. Sci Total Environ 2023; 867:161517. [PMID: 36638974 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The American Southwest is experiencing drastic increases in aridity and wildfire incidence, triggering conversion of some frequent surface forests to non-forest. Extensive research has focused on these dynamics in regional ponderosa pine forests, but we know much less about Madrean pine-oak forests, which are broadly distributed from the Sierra Madre in Mexico to the Sky Island mountain ranges in the U.S. Increased fire incidence and drought in these forests are limiting pine regeneration and driving conversion of biodiverse forests to oak shrublands. We investigated regeneration patterns in Pinus engelmannii and P. leiophylla during severe drought 10 years after the Horseshoe Two Megafire in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona-a follow-up to an assessment five years post-fire. In long-term plots, we examined changes in pine seedling and resprout recruitment. Past research demonstrated that topography and fire severity influenced pine recruitment across environmental gradients. We investigated here whether Landsat-8 normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and evapotranspiration estimated by the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) added explanatory value to our understanding of these patterns. Conversion of Madrean pine-oak forest to oak shrublands continued 6-10 years post-fire. A dense, low oak canopy continued to coalesce in sites subject to severe fire. The importance of resprouts in P. leiophylla regeneration accelerated because these plants outgrew competing oak resprouts. Topography and fire severity (dNBR) were important predictors of 2021 patterns of pine recruitment. NDVI added explanatory value to these models, suggesting its potential in tracking forest dynamics. Evapotranspiration did not add value, likely because ECOSTRESS' larger pixel sizes and moving pixel locations created excessive subpixel heterogeneity in this highly dissected landscape. These models suggest that P. engelmannii is more drought sensitive, was more negatively affected by drought and fire, and is more at risk to shifts in climate and wildfires than P. leiophylla.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Barton
- Department of Biology, University of Maine at Farmington, Farmington, ME 04938, USA.
| | - Helen M Poulos
- Wesleyan University, College of the Environment and Earth and Environmental Sciences, Middletown, CT 06459, USA.
| | - George W Koch
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
| | - Thomas E Kolb
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
| | - Andrea E Thode
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
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