why we can’t ‘just’ split big forests into multiple blocks so when a block burns it doesn’t spread through the whole forest.

Question

Well the title is the question.
With ‘split’ I mean create some space between blocks where fire has nothing to travel to the next block to spread.

I imagine that actions like dropping water with helicopters would also be unnecessary since we could ‘give up’ a burning block and then the fire would be over.

Or am I too naive about it?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

Every small patch you make from a large patch of forest creates more edges. Edges of vegetation patches tend to have more light, weeds and invasive species, which can compete with local native plants and animals (research “edge effects” and “habitat fragmentation”). However, you can have a large patch of forest that is periodically burned in small patches (mosaic burning) over time to reduce fuel loads and allow access to intact forest adjacent for movement of animals.