Sheila Bautz
Daily Herald
When wildfires rage, the eco-system is drastically disrupted. The destruction from fires creates a direct impact on various animal and vegetation species that is evident for decades. This impact can be both beneficial and detrimental to the entire eco-system. In the aftermath of wildfires, adaptations and changes in vegetation occur, including the type of wildlife populations that re-enter the area.
Wildfires are also responsible for releasing greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, such as carbon dioxide. As a result, research reveals that climate change occurs from the direct impact wildfires have on an eco-system. Wildfires also threaten biodiversity, which affects both wildlife and human overall health. It appears that the cycle rotates between wildfires releasing greenhouse gas emissions and also being affected by the same GHGs with regard to climate changes that nurture further fires.
“Seeing occasional wildfires is just part of the landscape,” explained Iga Stasiak, the provincial wildlife health specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. “We know that climate change is certainly contributing to the hot and dry conditions that we’ve been seeing globally. It’s becoming more of an issue and we’re certainly seeing more frequency and intensity of the fires. It’s expected that with climate change, we’re just going to be seeing more of that over the coming years.”
The significant impacts affect the biodiversity in the Boreal forest. Biodiversity consists of all life forms, from bacteria to any lifeform’s genetics. This includes entire ecosystems, such as the Boreal forest and its wildlife.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), wildlife is defined as: All living things that grow independently of people, usually in natural condition. Wildlife includes, but is not limited to, plants, animals, birds and aquatic life.
The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) includes timber and non-timber forest products in their definition of wildlife.
Currently, to assess the impact of the wildfires on Saskatchewan wildlife populations in northern Saskatchewan, Stasiak stated that the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment receives periodic reports from four main sources.
“We have a few different references for monitoring wildlife in general and in fires,” explained Stasiak. “The Indigenous communities are instrumental for this monitoring due to their extensive knowledge of the habitat. We also receive reports from the general public, hunters, and by ariel surveillance, as we don’t use tracking devices on the animals.”
Indigenous communities have centuries of knowledge about the landscape, the types of vegetation and wildlife that exists in the area. They have real world knowledge about the history of the region and the types of animals, fish and birds that frequent it and migrated due to various environmental reasons.
Through the wisdom of northern Indigenous communities, the knowledge they share about the Boreal forest eco-system is invaluable. They are knowledgeable about the changes to the Boreal forest, the wildlife populations and the type of climate changes that occur. The education Indigenous communities provide as the Original Stewards of the Land to the Ministry of Environment is crucial for a collaborative effort.
Stasiak also stated that members of the general public and hunters have important and active roles in collecting information on wildlife in Saskatchewan. They assist by reporting sightings of animals — including deceased or injured wildlife that they encounter — to the Ministry of Environment, particularly during a wildfire crisis. At times, hunters and civilians will send the remains from animal carcasses that they find to be tested and evaluated for the cause of death.
Although research on the impact of wildfires to natural forests is conducted in other international wildlife jurisdictions, Saskatchewan researchers acknowledge that important, additional research that is specific to the province is required. Research projects are beneficial for investigating the impact wildfires have on Boreal forest wildlife.
“There are very few studies on the impact of wildfires on wildlife in Saskatchewan,” said Stasiak. “We need to do our best to document it right now, as there are some active research studies that are happening right now in Saskatchewan monitoring different species.”
In 2023, international researchers Kandasamy Gajendiran, Sabariswaran Kandasamy and Mathiyazhagan Narayanan published a review article entitled Influences of wildfire on the forest ecosystem and climate change: A comprehensive study. In the study, the researchers revealed that through the destruction of the environment due to wildfires, there is a profound effect on ecosystems. The findings revealed that forest fires account for 17.5 per cent of the worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases.
The impact of wildfires on wildlife creates a flood of potential hazards that also affect humans. The wildlife and human health consequences due to the emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, can be fatal due to extensive wildfires.
Another international research study published by Sarah Naiyer and Syed Safdar Abbas, authors of Greenhouse Gases: Sources, Sinks and Mitigations, state that climate change greenhouse gases can greatly affect human health. The researchers reveal that the human body is able to adjust to short-term exposures of greenhouse gases. However, long-term and regular exposure develops into chronic health issues.
According to Naiyer and Abbas, the chronic state of health resulting from prolonged wildfire exposure wears on various human body organs. The chronic health issues that develop include trouble with the respiratory system, central nervous system, the digestive system and the cardiovascular system.
Naturally, wildlife populations are also physically affected by the greenhouse emissions due to wildfires. The vegetation that is consumed by fire is often responsible for releasing the toxic greenhouse gases that spark potential chronic health issues in people and wildlife.
“Wildfires can certainly cause displacement of wildlife as they try to flee and escape the fire, but wild animals have evolved to a number of different adaptations,” said Stasiak. “Some animals, specifically larger mammals, will leave the fire area or seek the lakes and might find a little refuge in wetlands or streams, where they will wait out the fire. Other animals may go under the ground, such as small mammals, rodents, where they burrow or they may hide under rocks to escape fires. So, there’s a variety of different adaptations.”
Even though animals seek some safety in burrowing in the ground, Stasiak stated that there is a risk that the smoke can cause severe injury or death to the burrowing creatures. In addition, depending on the time of year when young birds are hatching or young animals are born, populations of wildlife are lost due to their vulnerable age and inability to escape.
Naturally, fish and water species have a water refuge, and according to Stasiak, “Typically wildfires would not impact them and we expect it’s actually providing refuge and the species that are within that larger water body will be safe. But of course, if we’re talking about a smaller water body, and with the heat of the fire potentially heating the water, that may be detrimental.”
Other wildlife, like Boreal Caribou, may be lost to the Saskatchewan Boreal forest for many years due to wildfires. This is due to the Boreal Caribou being an example of an animal that relies on the older forest growths to prosper, which wildfires destroy. Research is ongoing to determine if Boreal Caribou access their migratory routes to escape, but that is not confirmed by official studies yet where exactly they go during a wildfire.
“Boreal Caribou living in the southern Boreal forest do tend to prefer older coniferous forests,” said Stasiak. “One of their main sources with their diet are lichens, which take a long time to regenerate after fire. That’s not to say they don’t ever use any burnt areas. They do use some burnt areas or residential areas within the larger burned areas, but there are other areas they’ll avoid for extended periods of time. It depends on the extent of the fire.”
Once the fire is over, animal populations move back to the charred territories where the vegetation begins to flourish. Some seeds that are dormant in the ground require the heat of fire to germinate, root and grow.
“Fires open the tree canopy as well, so the sunlight itself will allow new growth to thrive,” said Stasiak. “It’s beneficial because some of these early vegetation and others need a lot of open lines of sunlight and it allows this early successional habitat, shrubs and grasses to come up fairly quickly. Certain species of insects will start colonizing the area right away, so it may not take too much time. We’re talking over the span of months for vegetation to start growing up and animals to start grazing and other species I mentioned, like Caribou, may take longer time to return to the area. Caribou can range in years before they are able to utilize the habitat.”
In the aftermath of a fire, renewed life once again flourishes the landscape.
“After an area is burnt, often times you’ll see an influx of different animals coming in,” said Stasiak. “Some species like moose or deer, actually like the new growth and they forage on the vegetation that comes up. Rodents, ground squirrels, mice, they tend to like the areas, along with certain species of birds, such as woodpeckers. They’ll feed on some of the larva and will colonize the dead trees.”
Wildfires are a natural occurrence that can provide both benefits to wildlife and detrimental impacts. Wildfires affect all species, and humans, differently. According to international studies, they are also responsible for releasing greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions.
