There was a time in Earth's relatively recent geologic history when plants and animals roamed the planet, yet, wildfires were impossible. This was due to a lack of oxygen that occurred due to long term trends, during what is known as the "Frasnian charcoal gap". This video will discuss a potential reason why oxygen levels were so low on the planet, and indicate how this relates to the generation of charcoal.

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Graphics of eruption dates are courtesy of the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. https://volcano.si.edu/
Images with a list of eruption dates have their dates sourced from the GVP of the Smithsonian Institution.

Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers

Thumbnail Photo Credit: US Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region, User: forestservicenw, Flickr, Public Domain, https://www.flickr.com/photos/forestservicenw/23428688186

Sources:
[1] I. Glasspool, A. Scott, D. Waltham, N. Pronina, & L. Shao. (2015). "The impact of fire on the Late Paleozoic Earth System". Frontiers in Plant Science. 6: 756. Published online 2015 Sep 23. 10.3389/fpls.2015.00756. CC BY 4.0.
[2] U.S. Geological Survey
[3] NOAA

Creative Commons Licenses used in this video:
Public Domain: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

0:00 Going Back in Time
1:25 Charcoal Gap
2:18 Devonian Oxygen Levels
2:36 Fire Needs
3:13 Devonian Warm Period
3:52 Conclusion