UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WLUC) – Recent rains have mixed with wildfire smoke and will be affecting Upper Peninsula gardens, farms and forests.
The effects could be detrimental but also beneficial, says MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center Director James DeDecker. He says it can affect growth and taste in fruits, vegetables and herbs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of water vapor and numerous pollutants which include carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, organic compounds and more. The U.S. Geological Survey also reports wildfire ash being high in alkaline. DeDecker says the smoke and ash mix with the rain on the way down from the atmosphere and have a combined effect on what it lands on or absorbs into.
“In those cases where the soil might be especially acidic and you are adding some alkalinity with the ash and the rain mixed with it, could there be a minor benefit, perhaps I do think,” DeDecker said. “Unfortunately, contaminated air and particulate matter do contain some amount of nutrients.”
DeDecker also stated that the smoke can block sunlight and harm plant growth. The smoke can also worsen the flavor of some fruits or vegetables, as well as the smell from certain aromatics like lavender.
DeDecker says these effects should be minor, but it depends on how long the wildfire smoke is going to last. He says the health detriment is to the farmers rather than the crops right now.
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