Australia, New Zealand, the state of California in the United States and New Caledonia – these are the places in the world which are particularly prone to bushfires. As the name implies, a bushfire is a fires which occurs in the bush which can be made of scrubland, woodland or grassland.
Take the southeastern part of Australia as an example. Here, bushfires occur during the drought years, as well as the summer and autumn season. The situation becomes especially severe during warm and dry conditions.
And if you think that bushfires do not occur during the winter or the dry season, think again. These weather patterns combined with the seasonal growth of the bush are the usual culprits to the occurrence and frequency of bushfires.
Read on to find out more information about bushfires, its and effects to the environment.
What are the Key Factors Affecting the Occurrence of Bushfires?
First, let us take a look at the key factors which affect the occurrence of bushfires. Just as it is when something is burned, the object which stoked the fire in the first place pretty much dictates just how intense the fire will be. When it comes to bushfires, the fuel comes in the form of fuel; litter on the woodland or grassland such as leaves and twigs and an undergrowth of shrubs. The other two factors affecting the occurrence of bushfires include humidity or dryness in the weather, and the topography of the terrain in a particular area.
A Look Back at Some of the Bushfires in Australia
Next, to give you an idea about how destructive bushfires can be, here is a list of some of the worst bushfires which occurred in Australia from the year 2000 up to now.
2003 Canberra Bushfires
Four people were dead and about 500 homes were damaged during the bushfires in the Australian Capital Territory.
2003 Bushfires in the Eastern Victorian alpines
More than 1.3 million hectares of property and 41 homes were burned during this bushfire which lasted from January 8 to March 8.
2006 Pulletop Bushfire
This bushfire occurred in Wagga, Wagga, New South Wales. More than 95,000 hectares of property was damaged and a significant number of livestock were killed.
2009 Victorian Bushfires
Perhaps one of the worst bushfires in Australia, it started in February 7 of this year. The Victorian bushfires burned 450,000 hectares of property, claimed more than 200 lives and burned thousands of houses and other structures.
The Effects of Bushfires on the Environment
With the Victorian bushfires being subjects of news items recently, a lot of people are asking exactly what the environmental effects of these bushfires are.
Take a look at the following list to learn what the after-effects of bushfires are to the environment:
1. Severe bushfires will lead to the release of CO2 to the environment.
With the recent events that transpired on the bushfires in Victoria which claimed hundreds of lives and thousands of acres of property, it does pay to know exactly what the effects of such events are to the environment.
What the deadly Victorian bushfires will bring about is the release of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide or CO2 in the environment. This could be equal to more than 35% of Australia’s CO2 emission for an entire year. 
2. Vegetation will be removed and animals may be harmed during a bushfire.
In a bushfire as intense as the ones that Australia has witnessed over the past few years, almost all vegetations were removed in the case of such bushfires. Now, when it comes to the animals – some may be able to move out of the bushfire’s way onto safety – but others may be trapped while moving away from it.
3. Effects on soil quality, water and other short term changes from bushfires.
Depending on the resulting temperature of the soil after a bushfire occurs, it will definitely have effects on the composition of the soil. The quality of the stream water may also be affected by bushfires.
The loss of flora and fauna which may take years to regenerate is another ill-effect of bushfires. But despite the negative aspects of the occurrence of bushfires, they do have some good short-term effects like stimulating new growth which the animals can feed on. 
All in all, bushfires do have both a positive and negative effects to the environment and in countries like Australia, they are almost considered to be a natural part of the country’s ecological events.
We must all remember to be fire safe and prepare our homes and properties for the bush fire seasons.
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