近日，英国剑桥大学 Bousfield, Christopher G. 和 Edwards, David P. 及其团队的研究揭示，野火造成全球木材产出地—森林损失巨大，且损失不断增加。2023年11月13日，国际知名学术期刊《自然—地球科学》发表了这一成果。

研究人员结合全球伐木活动区域和野火置换区域的地图，来评估本世纪有多少产材林因野火而受损失，并量化每年损失面积的时空变化。2001-2021 年间，18.5-24.7 百万公顷的产材林（相当于英国的面积）经历了野火置换，在美国西部、加拿大、俄罗斯西伯利亚、巴西和澳大利亚都发生了大面积野火。

在整个 21 世纪，每年被烧毁的面积显著增加，这表明在日益严重的气候变化下，野火导致了大量的木材损失。研究结果强调，为了满足未来的木材需求，生产商必须采用新的管理策略和新兴技术来应对日益严重的野火威胁。

据悉，全球三分之一的森林被砍伐用作木材，且每年产生约 1.5 万亿美元的收入。但高度严重的野火对木材生产造成威胁。

附：英文原文

Title: Substantial and increasing global losses of timber-producing forest due to wildfires

Author: Bousfield, Christopher G., Lindenmayer, David. B., Edwards, David P.

Issue&Volume: 2023-11-13

Abstract: One-third of global forest is harvested for timber, generating ~US$1.5 trillion annually. High-severity wildfires threaten this timber production. Here we combine global maps of logging activity and stand-replacing wildfires to assess how much timber-producing forest has been lost to wildfire this century, and quantify spatio-temporal changes in annual area lost. Between 2001 and 2021, 18.5–24.7million hectares of timber-producing forest—an area the size of Great Britain—experienced stand-replacing wildfires, with extensive burning in the western USA and Canada, Siberian Russia, Brazil and Australia. Annual burned area increased significantly throughout the twenty-first century, pointing to substantial wildfire-driven timber losses under increasingly severe climate change. To meet future timber demand, producers must adopt new management strategies and emerging technologies to combat the increasing threat of wildfires.

DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01323-y

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01323-y