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Climate change is not only impacting the size

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and intensity of wildfires,

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but also their frequency in some regions.

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NASA has over 22 years of daily fire data
to track wildfire trends.

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This is important to get a sense
of how fire regimes, the historical

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frequency of wildfires in a region,
are changing over time.

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Understanding an ecosystem’s fire regime
is important, because in many instances

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wildfire is essential to maintain
a mixture of younger and older vegetation.

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However, when fires occur too
frequently or with increased severity,

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it can have devastating effects -
like destroying habitat,

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changing soil chemistry,
and clogging waterways,

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not to mention releasing greenhouse gases
like CO2 and aerosols into the atmosphere.

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NASA can study wildfires’ impact
on the landscape by measuring burn scars,

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as well as tracking vegetation
loss and rate of regrowth.

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Having an accurate assessment
of a landscape post-fire is a key

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part of understanding
how ecosystems recover over time.

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NASA's ability

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to not only track wildfires,
but also the conditions that lead to them

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is essential to our ability
to mitigate their impacts.

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We're working with land managers
and those on the front lines

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to give them the tools, including near
real-time data, to help them

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make decisions to minimize the risks
and plan for the future.