The US might be able to lower its CO2 emission output by routinely burning forest areas, a new study has said.

So-called ‘prescribed burning’ - or ‘controlled burning’ - is a technique that’s been used within forest management and – according to the study – produces significantly reduced CO2 when compared to the equivalent wildfire.

The study was carried out by NCAR (National Centre for Atmospheric Research)-based scientists – headed by Christine Wiedinmyer – and appears in the current edition of the Environmental Science and Technology publication.

It compiled together data accumulated during satellite missions and projected through computer simulation technologies to establish that, overall, controlled burning could reduce fire-related CO2 emissions by as much as 25 per cent within Western nations on average, adding that in certain areas this could even rise to 60 per cent.

Controlled Burns: CO2

Wildfires often result in the loss of larger trees and, therefore, large amounts of carbon are emitted and enter the atmosphere. Controlled burns do not focus on large trees, but instead are carried out on smaller trees and shrubs, the CO2 concentrations of which are inherently lower.

The rationale behind burning them is that – in the event of a fire – resultant forest damage is mitigated as much as possible.

Forest Emissions

Forest areas are already regarded as important in terms of emissions since they act as vast carbon sinks, pulling the gas out of the atmosphere and storing it. However, when trees are lost, this carbon obviously re-enters the atmosphere: estimates suggest that many decades of forest carbon capture would be needed to counteract the forest emissions of just one forest fire.

“It appears that prescribed burns can be an important piece of a climate change strategy”, Wiedinmyer explained.

“If we reintroduce fires into our ecosystems, we may be able to protect larger trees and significantly reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere by major wildfires.”

See also:

US Forest Carbon Capture and Storage Studied