The Role of Wildfires in Ecosystems and How They Affect Biodiversity

Gavin West

11/27/22
 There are many different types of natural fires that occur in urban and rural areas such as
forest fires, wildfires, bushfires, wildland fires, and urban fires just to name a few. These fires
can be absolutely devastating to many places in nature. Wildfires are caused by lightning in most
circumstances, but other natural events and even human actions are influential. In nature, places
with dryer climates produce vegetation that is subject to higher flammability which accelerates
the chances for a wildfire to start. Food sources for wildlife can be destroyed during wildfires,
forcing wildlife to relocate their habitats which greatly affects biodiversity. There are many
negative, and even positive effects of wildfires on ecosystems, and the diversity of wildlife and
forest growth can be changed in an instant.
While wildfires can have positive impacts, they unfortunately never fail to distress the
biodiversity in the places that they occur. For example, Australia is home to some of the largest
and most devastating wildfires that happened in 2019 and 2020. Australia has one of the largest
and most diverse ecosystem networks in the world, with an abundance of animals, plants, and
many other organisms. During these wildfires, over 12 million hectares of the vegetation and
land were burned which also killed billions of the wildlife. One of the greatest impacts on
biodiversity that this event in particular had and many wildfires in the world can have, is the
danger of extinction for certain species.
Not only can wildlife be drastically affected by wildfires, but plant growth and vegetation
are impacted. Time of year, temperature of the fire, and many other things can affect the severity
of the impact on plant growth. Small trees and plants that make their home on the forest floor are
usually the first victims to wildfires. However, some taller trees are able to continue living if the
fire stays below the canopy of trees. Even when trees and plants are able to live through a severe
wildfire, their defense against insects, disease, and fungi is compromised.
One of the leading effects on the changing patterns of wildfires and how often they occur
is climate change. Another reason for an increase in these fires is the mismanagement of
landscapes and changing them abruptly. Forests all over the world are adapted to a certain
climate that provides the best living conditions given the circumstances. If these climates are
changed quickly and often, the “immune system” of the vegetation can be negatively affected, in
turn making them prone to wildfires at a higher rate. It is recorded by the European Space
Agency that about 1.5 million square miles of the earth's land is affected by wildfires every year.
Wildfires leave landscapes barren and dry, seeming as if they will never see life or be
habitable again. It is difficult for soil to even absorb moisture after a wildfire. Diversity of
wildlife, plant growth, and ecosystems as a whole are permanently alternated. Many of the
negative effects of wildfires come in the form of short term changes. When the long term effects
of wildfires are considered, is it seen that there are also many positive changes and impacts that
occur with regard to biodiversity.
It is often stated that fires are part of the circle of life in nature. Wildfires have actually
played a crucial role in nourishing the diversity in biology when they occur in certain places.
Specific plant and animal species have actually become dependent on wildfires to assist in the
process of evolution. This is possible because the fire can make for a disequilibrium in
biodiversity, giving the opportunity of increased resiliency and health in certain species. Natural
selection is one of the main factors of biodiversity, and wildfires are able to catalyze this process.
Over time, forest floors accumulate a large amount of dead and dry debris from plants
and other organic substances that are not needed for the forest to flourish. This accumulation can
disrupt future vegetation growth and make the chance of a much more devastating wildfire in the
future a lot higher. Small unplanned wildfires and even controlled burns of this debris helps to
promote further advancement of specific ecosystems. These surface-burning wildfires are
destructive to growth on the floor of forests, but they also help to reprocess nutrients, cleanse the
forest of diseases from insects, and strengthen plants against future fires.
Wildfires are also a help to certain types of plants that require heat for their seeds to be
effectively opened and spread. New plant life can also be the result of wildfires, furthering
biodiversity in many regions after burns have occurred. Plants that have actually grown to need
fires to continue thriving are called pyrophytes. As an example of these plants, banksia and
lodgepole trees have seed holding cones that are released by fire. Right after a burn, these seeds
are able to begin growth due to more sunlight exposure and soil area.
Wildlife that make their homes and source food out of trees, plants, and the ground of
forests are especially affected in the event of a wildfire. In many unfortunate cases, lots of these
animals die. Those that are able to move seek refuge as close to home as they can away from the
path of the fire. Severity of the wildfire can either make this more difficult, forcing animals to
move further from their homes which creates an even more drastic effect on biodiversity. What
makes wildlife in ecosystems that are prone to wildfires so amazing is that they have adapted to
these conditions and are able to survive on what is left over from a wildfire. This is important for
animals to be able to do because fire has been and will continue to be an instrument that
preserves ecosystems.
Forests can experience wildfires of varying intensities that affect the wildlife and
biodiversity of which in different ways. Fires that burn with a low intensity allow for surface
growth to quickly return because of the newly fertilized soil from burned debris, and increased
exposure to sunlight. Trees are able to stay alive for the most part, and will grow new leaves and
retain the soil with their unharmed roots. Small animals that scavenge for food on the forest floor
will return due to the new growth and seeds that can be found, and these animals attract other
wildlife that prey on them. New vegetation also provides food for plant eating animals such as
bison and deer. Generally, there is a lot of damage after even small scale fires burn. However, the
ecosystem quickly restores itself and continues processes of biodiversity within the specific
region, and into neighboring regions due to wildlife relocating.
When forest fires occur at a high intensity, the soil can be damaged and trees permanently
killed which will make for the restoration process to be a lot lengthier. This will drive wildlife
into other ecosystems with different animals and plants for longer periods of time. When this
happens, the biodiversity of these unharmed areas becomes so great that overpopulation can
become a problem. In this situation, nature will find a way to balance itself out again. Wildfires
are one of these balancing and preserving tools that have been utilized by ecosystems for
millions of years. Fires are neither good or bad for the environments they happen in, it really just
depends on the location of the fire and how severe it is. Also depending on these factors,
ecosystems and biodiversity are constantly changed due to wildfires, continuing the chaotic and
resilient circle of life.
 Literature Cited

Snow, M. (2022). How Does Wildfire Impact Wildlife and Forests? fws.gov.
https://www.fws.gov/story/2022-10/how-does-wildfire-impact-wildlife-and-forests
Burchill, A. (2022). Are Wildfires Bad? askabiologist.asu.edu.
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/wildfires
Davare, R. (2022). The Impact of Wildfires on Biodiversity and the Environment. earth.org.
https://earth.org/impact-of-wildfires/