Findings from biomass burning field campaigns set directions for future research on atmospheric impacts

The global extent of vegetation fires is modified by climate, land use change, and other factors and feedbacks. Fires are important for maintaining fire-adapted ecosystems, but they can also impact ecosystem properties and functions and hasten ecosystem conversion. Fires are also a major source of atmospheric trace gases and particulate matter (PM) that influence global air quality and climate. Fire emissions are highly variable, and their air quality and climate effects also depend on complex transport and post-emission chemical and physical transformations that are often poorly understood. Here, we reflect on previous large-scale campaigns and consider future research that will advance the understanding of fires and their effects on both the atmosphere and the global environment. Atmospheric field campaigns that targeted fires and their emissions in tropical, boreal, and temperate ecosystems over the last half-century have significantly improved understanding of the chemistry and physics of fire emissions and smoke evolution and impacts (Figure 1). (1) These campaigns evolved in their sophistication and comprehensiveness, and have been complementary to laboratory studies, satellite measurements, and models, all of which have similarly advanced.