| 1. |
- Fernandez-Anez, Nieves, et al.
(författare)
-
Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe : A Synthesis of National Perspectives
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Air, Soil and Water Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1178-6221. ; 14, s. 1-19
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009–2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action “Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society” funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.
|
|
| 2. |
- Le Page, Yannick, et al.
(författare)
-
Seasonality of vegetation fires as modified by human action : observing the deviation from eco-climatic fire regimes
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Blackwell Publishing Lt. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 19:4, s. 575-588
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim In any region affected, fires exhibit a strong seasonal cycle driven by the dynamic of fuel moisture and ignition sources throughout the year. In this paper we investigate the global patterns of fire seasonality, which we relate to climatic, anthropogenic, land-cover and land-use variables. Location Global, with detailed analyses from single 1°× 1° grid cells. Methods We use a fire risk index, the Chandler burning index (CBI), as an indicator of the ‘natural’, eco-climatic fire seasonality, across all types of ecosystems. A simple metric, the middle of the fire season, is computed from both gridded CBI data and satellite-derived fire detections. We then interpret the difference between the eco-climatic and observed metrics as an indicator of the human footprint on fire seasonality. Results Deforestation, shifting cultivation, cropland production or tropical savanna fires are associated with specific timings due to land-use practices, sometimes largely decoupled from the CBI dynamics. Detailed time series from relevant locations provide comprehensive information about these practices and how they are adapted to eco-climatic conditions. Main conclusions We find a great influence of anthropogenic activities on global patterns of fire seasonality. The specificity of the main fire practices and their easy identification from global observation is a potential tool to support land-use monitoring efforts. Our results should also prove valuable in the development of a methodological approach for improving the representation of anthropogenic fire practices in dynamic global vegetation models.
|
|
