The situation is becoming increasingly precarious: Bild der Wissenschaft reports in the cover story of its August issue how researchers are trying to counteract the increasing risk of forest fires worldwide as a result of climate change. According to the report, innovative concepts and sophisticated techniques are currently being developed to contain the sometimes devastating fires or prevent them from breaking out in the first place.
They are natural wonders and recreational areas – but above all, forests have enormous ecological significance for our planet: they perform cleaning functions, influence the climate and form an important element in the earth’s carbon cycle. Fire has always played a significant role in this: fires have always ensured the rejuvenation of vegetation. But due to human influence, forest fires have increasingly become a global problem. Changes in natural forest ecosystems and the more frequent droughts as a result of climate change are leading to more frequent and particularly widespread fires that threaten nature and people.
In the first article of the three-part cover story “Saving the Forests”, bdw technology editor Ralf Butscher first explains the extent of the increasing risk of forest fires worldwide and its causes. He highlights the devastating fires in Canada in the summer of 2023 as a particularly drastic example. But in Europe and even in Germany, too, the fires are becoming more and more threatening due to the increasing drought. In order to fundamentally counteract the danger, researchers are currently devoting themselves to the development of new early warning systems: Butscher reports how automatic observation posts and satellites with thermal imaging cameras could help fight fires more quickly. There is also further potential in highly sensitive sensors that can sniff out the smell of fire in the forest and raise the alarm if necessary, according to the article “Eyes in space, noses on the trees”.
Of fire-fighting drones and fire-resistant forests
The second part of the article is devoted to the potential of drones in rescuing people and fighting fires in the forest. In it, bdw author Martin Angler first reports on the sophisticated technological developments that enable the small autonomous aircraft to recognize people in the thicket from a bird’s eye view. In the fight against forest fires, drones can also be used to detect sources of fire and take on tasks in areas that are dangerous for people. For example, they can create firebreaks by dropping so-called “dragon eggs”. In addition, work is currently being done on specially fireproof drones and systems that are intended to prevent collisions in the air during operations, reports Angler in the article “The drone fire brigade”.
The cover story is rounded off by an article that looks at the possibilities of making forests more fire-resistant and capable of regeneration. As bdw author Kurt de Swaaf reports, this is being researched in the forest areas in Germany most affected by fires: the pine forests of Brandenburg. Biologists are using test sites to investigate which aspects of the vegetation contribute to the fire risk and how burned areas recover. It is becoming apparent that unnatural plant communities and human interventions increase fire risks and impair the ability to regenerate. However, in some cases, controlled fires could also deprive large fires of their potential for fuel and spread, according to the article “Fire-resistant forest”.
You can read the articles on the cover story “Saving the Forests” online as part of a bdw+ subscription, or you can find them in the August issue of bild der wissenschaft, which will be available in stores from July 19.