A study released March 12 of four large
"Reducing the number and severity of wildfires may be the single most important action we can take in the short-term to lower greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming," said Dr. Thomas Bonnicksen, a noted forestry expert who authored the report and has studied California forests for more than 30 years.
The study was conducted for the Forest Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes education about the state's forests. The study is based on an analytical tool developed for the Forest Foundation that allows scientists to estimate greenhouse gases emitted by wildfire and subsequent forest decay. The tool, called the Forest Carbon and Emissions Model, analyzes the impact of wildfires on global warming by considering a number of factors, including vegetation density, tree species, mortality caused by a fire, and the removal of dead trees and replanting of new trees….