资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Prescribed fire is the largest source of fine particulate matter emissions in the Southeastern U.S., yet its air quality impacts remain highly uncertain. Here, we assess the influence of prescribed fire on observed pollutant concentrations in the region using a unique fire dataset compiled from multiyear digital burn permit records. There is a significant association between prescribed fire activity and concentrations recorded at Southeastern monitoring sites, with permitted burning explaining as much as 50% variability in daily PM_2.5 concentrations. This relationship varies spatially and temporally across the region, and as a function of burn type. At most locations, the association between PM_2.5 concentration and permitted burning is stronger than that with satellite‐derived burn area or meteorological drivers of air quality. These results highlight the value of bottom‐up data in evaluating the contribution of prescribed fire to regional air pollution and reveal a need to develop more complete burn records.