How animals are adapting to the rise of wildfires

Spark of hopeImproved fire management could also play an important role in protecting animals in the Pyrocene. “Preventing accidental fires is important,” Jones says, “but fire is a natural part of many ecosystems. So creating conditions where fire can burn in a safe way, and using controlled burns to remove some of the fuel can prevent larger, more intense fires.” (Does wildfire smoke impact animals? Here’s what we know.)Not only can controlled burns prevent some of those intense, modern-day infernos that animals can’t possibly survive, but they could help maintain animals’ existing adaptations to fire by rewarding the best-adapted ones and eliminating the ones that wouldn’t stand a chance in an actual wildfire. Controlled burns also may provide a relatively gentle introduction to fire for animals that aren’t experienced with or adapted to it, giving them a chance to learn what to do when things get worse.“I definitely don’t want to paint an overly optimistic picture,” says Jones. “Many species may not be able to adapt rapidly enough. But I think there’s a spark of hope that some of them will.”

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