Quantifying the smoke-related public health trade-offs of forest management

Claire L. Schollaert (), Jihoon Jung, Joseph Wilkins, Ernesto Alvarado, Jill Baumgartner, Julien Brun, Tania Busch Isaksen, Jamie M. Lydersen, Miriam E. Marlier, Julian D. Marshall, Yuta J. Masuda, Charles Maxwell, Christopher W. Tessum, Kristen N. Wilson, Nicholas H. Wolff () and June T. Spector
Additional contact information
Claire L. Schollaert: University of Washington
Jihoon Jung: University of North Carolina
Joseph Wilkins: Howard University
Ernesto Alvarado: University of Washington
Jill Baumgartner: McGill University
Julien Brun: University of California
Tania Busch Isaksen: University of Washington
Jamie M. Lydersen: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Miriam E. Marlier: University of California
Julian D. Marshall: University of Washington
Yuta J. Masuda: Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Charles Maxwell: Spatial Informatics Group
Christopher W. Tessum: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Kristen N. Wilson: The Nature Conservancy
Nicholas H. Wolff: The Nature Conservancy
June T. Spector: University of Washington

Nature Sustainability, 2024, vol. 7, issue 2, 130-139

Abstract: Abstract Prescribed burning can mitigate extreme wildfire risk and reduce total smoke emissions. Yet prescribed burns’ emissions may also contribute to smoke exposures in nearby communities. Incorporating public health considerations into forest management planning efforts may help reduce prescribed burn-related exposure impacts. We present a methodological framework linking landscape ecology, air-quality modelling and health impact assessment to quantify the air-quality and health impacts of specific management strategies. We apply this framework to six forest management scenarios proposed for a landscape in the Central Sierra, California. We find that moderate amounts of prescribed burning can decrease wildfire-specific PM2.5 exposures and reduce asthma-related health impacts in the surrounding region; however, the magnitude of that benefit levels off under scenarios with additional prescribed burning because of the added treatment-related smoke burdens. This framework can be applied to other fire-prone landscapes to incorporate public health considerations into forest management planning.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01253-y

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