Background Research
Air Quality Testing
We tested the air quality during the fire and after the fire was over by creating an air pollution monitor modeled after Berkeley Lab's Simple Air Pollution Monitor found here:
http://go3project.com/network2/pdf/Hansen_School_BC_Measurement.pdf.
We created our version of an air pollution monitor by duct taping a layer of cheese cloth to the end of a vacuum hose, then covering with a layer of clean tissue paper held in place by a rubber band.
We compared them to Berkeley Lab's grayscale reading chart to see how polluted it was. The tissue during the fire was disgusting! According to the grayscale, it was a 2.5 µg/sqcm.
“That’s a lot of air pollution!”
- Amirah Alexander, seventh grade team member who helped install the air pollution monitor
The tissue after the fire was over was clean, which means we normally have clean air.
Fire Experiments
Wet vs. Dry Wood
We designed and conducted experiments on starting fires with wet vs. dry wood. We tested whether wood soaked in water or dry wood caught on fire faster and which took longer to burn. We did this to learn more about the conditions in which wildfires burn, and to give us a better understanding about how to prevent them. This helped us prove that the California's drought increased the risk of fire.
Additional Proof that Wildfires Cause Air Pollution
We designed and conducted experiments on how fires affect air quality. We burned small dry wood pieces and placed a paper in the air above the flame. The paper collected soot. The air quality experiments proved that the fire did cause problems with the very air that the we were breathing in and out every day.
Forest Ecology
Climate Change and Adaptation in California
Increased wildfire has been identified as one of the most potentially significant climate change impacts to forested ecosystems in California. Climate change is expected to increase the size, severity, duration, and frequency of fires. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, wildfire burn area will increase to up to 400% in most northern California forests.
Wildfires - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Fire consumes organic matter, releasing greenhouse gases including CO2, methane, carbon monoxide, and other materials. Trees and plants not consumed by the fire can die and decompose faster, releasing CO2.
Fire is a necessary part of the ecosystem, especially in California where plants are adapted to fire. Rather than eliminate fire, the goal is to maintain normal fire conditions and avoid catastrophic fires that happen when fuels build up to unnatural levels.
http://calfire.ca.gov/foreststeward/carbon_sequest-climate
The Carbon Cycle
Young, fast-growing trees consume carbon at a fast speed. This becomes slower as the trees get older. Carbon is released from trees when they burn or rot. Older forest can have a neutral amount of carbon, equally absorbing and releasing, but elder forest ecosystems already have a large amount of carbon in their soil and biomass.
What We Can Do
When we developed our action plan, these are the Strategies we adopted that align with Cal Fire from their website:
"Support Restoration Activities – CFIP and Nurseries will work with state agencies such as DFG and DPR, USFS, landowners, and others to develop technical assistance and guidance materials."
"Seedbank and Nursery Support – CAL FIRE will work with the USFS and private sector to improve long-term seedbanks and nurseries in order to secure genetically appropriate varieties for future plantings and to preserve genetic legacies."