Lightning, campfire sparks, flint, or matches can help wood reach the 572º necessary to create a fire. A match is a small stick of wood or paper dipped in a chemical mixture and coated with sulfur and potassium chlorate. The match is struck across a strip of red phosphorus. Red phosphorus’s flash point is very low - only 392º. So when the red phosphorus hits its ignition point, it sets off a chain reaction that causes the match to burst into flame. But 392º is very hot - how could we make the strip reach that temperature? The heat boost is provided from friction between the match head and the strip. The friction creates enough heat energy, raising the temperature high enough so that the phosphorus catches fire. The flame from the burning red phosphorus then heats the wood or paper match until it also burns.
What effect do forest fires have on Californian communities?
Each year during California's "fire season," usually from May to late fall; thousands of acres of wildland and hundreds of structures are burned. Some of the qualities Californians most enjoy - our warm, dry climate and beautiful natural landscapes - create one of the most severe potential wildfire conditions in the world. Added to this is the greater number of people moving into new communities that were once wildland areas - the foothills, grasslands, and mountains of California. Mixing fire-prone wildland areas and suburban areas makes it very difficult to maintain the natural role of fire and to protect human lives and property. The rapid population growth into these areas is putting great strain on the fire fighting forces as well as on the integrity of these fire-dependent ecosystems. Acknowledging that it is every Californian's responsibility to understand the role of fire in maintaining the health of fire adapted ecosystems, and to help protect lives and property from fire, there are certain steps that everyone living in a fire-prone area can take. By evaluating the risks and taking steps to make their community and property "fire safe," Californians can learn to live with fire.
What effect do forest fires have on nature?
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/fire/fuels/prescribed/
Fires have always been a natural component of the earth's ecosystems. As natural as wind and rain, fire helped create a patchwork of differing vegetation types. For millions of years in what is now North America, lightning and volcanic activity started fires, long before people came on the scene.
Later, Indians regularly burned the vegetation to open up an area and to favor plants that attract game animals. These natural and human-caused fires have helped select vegetation types that tend to depend on fires for their existence. In these ecosystems, the plants and animals have many adaptations that help them survive and reestablish after fires. Chaparral, found in central and southern California, is one plant community often impacted by fire. Typical chaparral plants include manzanita, ceanothus, chamise, and scrub oak, along with herbs and grasses.
- First, in chaparral and closed-cone conifer communities, the seeds need fire to germinate.
- Second, fires clear the forest of underbrush, leaving ash and opening the forest floor up to sunlight. The resulting grasses, herbs, and regenerated shrubs provide food for many wildlife species.
- Third, where the ground has a deep accumulation of fallen branches and dry litter, fires reduce this debris and supply nutrients to the soil. Periodic burns in an area help use up the fuel, which means that successive fire is less intense and less destructive than when fires are suppressed and plant debris accumulates.
- Fourth, but not of least importance, when fire removes a thick stand of shrubs, the water supply is increased. With fewer plants absorbing water, streams are fuller, benefiting other types of plants and animals.
Are there any agricultural uses for ashes?
