Controlled fires, as a method, refer to the deliberate ignition and management of fire under predefined environmental, spatial, and temporal conditions to achieve specific experimental, ecological, or land-management objectives. In research and applied settings, they are implemented using standardized ignition patterns, fuel preparation, and meteorological criteria to manipulate fire intensity, spread rate, and residence time while maintaining safety and reproducibility. Controlled fires enable systematic study of fire behavior, combustion processes, vegetation and soil responses, emissions, and post-fire ecological dynamics, and they often require detailed planning, monitoring instrumentation, and adherence to regulatory and risk-mitigation protocols.
In remote central Arnhem Land, finding a northern brushtail possum is encouraging for the local Indigenous rangers. Though once common, such small native mammals are now rare. Many are threatened with extinction.
Ecology
Jul 16, 2025
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18
As wildfires increasingly threaten lives, landscapes, and air quality across the U.S., a Stanford-led study published in AGU Advances finds that prescribed burns can help reduce risks.
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2025
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72
Prescribed burns are important for land management and preventing wildfires, but a new study finds these managed fires are also significant contributors to air pollution in the southeastern United States—particularly in areas ...
Environment
Jun 18, 2025
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20
For millennia, First Nations people have shaped Australian ecosystems through the purposeful and skillful use of fire. This cultural burning is an important way for Aboriginal people to connect to and care for Country.
Ecology
Jun 17, 2025
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19
Fire is arguably humanity's earliest discovery. It was pivotal in advancing society—underpinning many of humanity's most transformative inventions, from cooking and forging weapons to generating energy and enabling car combustion ...
Nanomaterials
May 1, 2025
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31
Red skies in August, longer fire seasons and checking air quality before taking my toddler to the park. This has become the new norm in the western United States as wildfires become more frequent, larger and more catastrophic.
Environment
Apr 23, 2025
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16
Prescribed burns literally fight fire with more fire. Often referred to as "beneficial fires," they target areas at risk for wildfires and burn away material that could otherwise fuel a future blaze.
Environment
Apr 15, 2025
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48
Since the end of the 20th century, air pollution from most U.S. sources has decreased, but emissions from wildland fires have risen. In a new study, researchers estimated that smoke from wildfires and prescribed burns caused ...
Environment
Apr 3, 2025
1
347
High-temperature flames are used to create a wide variety of materials—but once you start a fire, it can be difficult to control how the flame interacts with the material you are trying to process. Researchers have now developed ...
Nanophysics
Aug 14, 2023
0
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