How climate change and fires are shaping the forests of the future

The iconic landscape of Yellowstone National Park is characterized by vast fores
The iconic landscape of Yellowstone National Park is characterized by vast forests that have been untouched by man but are threatened by increasing numbers of forest fires due to climate change. Image: R. Seidl / TUM
The iconic landscape of Yellowstone National Park is characterized by vast forests that have been untouched by man but are threatened by increasing numbers of forest fires due to climate change. Image: R. Seidl / TUM Tracking future forest fires with AI - As temperatures rise, the risk of devastating forest fires is increasing. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are using artificial intelligence to estimate the long-term impact that an increased number of forest fires will have on forest ecosystems. Their simulations show how Yellowstone National Park in the USA could change by the end of the century. Forest fires are already a global threat. "But considering how climate change is progressing, we are probably only at the beginning of a future that will see more and bigger forest fires," explains Rupert Seidl, Professor of Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management in Mountain Landscapes at TUM. In many places, fire is part of the natural environment, and many tree species have become naturally adapted to recurrent fires.
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