Changes in wildfire severity from maritime pine woodland to contiguous forest types in the mountains of northwestern Portugal

Fernandes, Paulo M.; Luz, Ana Catarina; Loureiro, Carlos

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.06.008

Cited by 79 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 67 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The lack of management of these areas, related to socio-economic constraints, may be the origin of these results. Some studies show that the fire occurrence probability and severity will increase as the shrub layer become more conspicuous, substantially dryer and more flammable due to higher temperatures (Castro et al, 2003;Fernandes et al, 2010;Schmidt et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…quadratic mean diameter) and density parameters (basal area) have also been used as an indicator of stand-level competition and have been shown to influence fire risk probability in forest stands in Catalonia (González et al, 2006). Dense tree canopies in conifer stands reduce the exposure of surface fuels to wind and solar radiation and minimize understory vegetation development, hence decreasing surface fire intensity and fire probability (Fernandes et al, 2010). The application of our risk model using a typical silviculture for maritime pine stands shows a slight increase in fire risk after thinning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is in line with common knowledge as thinnings may result in an increase of dead surface fuels (slash) that increase the risk of forest fires (Carey and Shumann, 2003). Thinnings may also help decrease the moisture in the forest due to the increased surface wind speed and light availability as well as the increased growth of herbs and shrubs (Fernandes and Rigolot, 2007;Fernandes et al, 2010;Jactel et al, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It further depends on landscape composition and structure (Fernandes et al, 2010;González et al, 2006). A study from Reed (1994) shows that stands are often burned by wildfires that started in neighboring stands (the probability of a stand burning being increased by other stands burning).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Assessing wildfire occurrence probability in Pinus pinaster Ait. stands in Portugal

Marques¹,

García-Gonzalo²,

Botequim³

et al. 2012

For. syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) is an important conifer from the western Mediterranean Basin extending over 22% of the forest area in Portugal. In the last three decades nearly 4% of Maritime pine area has been burned by wildfires. Yet no wildfire occurrence probability models are available and forest and fire management planning activities are thus carried out mostly independently of each other. This paper presents research to address this gap. Specifically, it presents a model to assess wildfire occurrence probability in regular and pure Maritime pine stands in Portugal. Emphasis was in developing a model based on easily available inventory data so that it might be useful to forest managers. For that purpose, data from the last two Portuguese National Forest Inventories (NFI) and data from wildfire perimeters in the years from 1998 to 2004 and from 2006 to 2007 were used. A binary logistic regression model was build using biometric data from the NFI. Biometric data included indicators that might be changed by operations prescribed in forest planning. Results showed that the probability of wildfire occurrence in a stand increases in stand located at steeper slopes and with high shrubs load while it decreases with precipitation and with stand basal area. These results are instrumental for assessing the impact of forest management options on wildfire probability thus helping forest managers to reduce the risk of wildfires.Key words: forest management; risk; fire occurrence model; Pinus pinaster Ait. Resumen Evaluación de la probabilidad de ocurrencia de fuegos en rodales de Pinus pinaster en PortugalEl articulo presenta un modelo para evaluar la probabilidad de ocurrencia de incendios en masas regulares y puras de Pinus pinaster en Portugal. Se desarrolla un modelo basado en datos de inventario fácilmente disponibles de tal forma que pueda ser una herramienta útil para los gestores forestales. Los datos proceden de los dos Inventarios Nacionales de Portugal (NFI) y de los datos de los parámetros de incendios forestales durante los años 1998-2004 y de 2006 a 2007. Se ha utilizado un modelo de regresión logística binarias utilizando datos biométricos del NFI. Los datos biométricos incluyen indicadores que puedan ser cambios en las operaciones prescritas en los planes forestales. Los resultados muestran que la probabilidad de ocurrencia de incendios en un rodal aumenta en rodales localizados en grandes pendientes y con una carga alta de matorrales, mientras que decrece con la precipitación y con el área basimétrica. Estos resultados son instrumentos para evaluar el impacto de las opciones de gestión forestal en la probabilidad de incendios ayudando por tanto a los gestores a reducir el riesgo de incendio.Palabras clave: gestion forestal, riesgo, modelo de ocurrencia de incendios, Pinus pinaster Ait.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Assessing wildfire occurrence probability in Pinus pinaster Ait. stands in Portugal

Marques¹,

García-Gonzalo²,

Botequim³

et al. 2012

For. syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The number before each variable code indicates the group to which it belongs: (1) type of forest vegetation, (2) type of land cover, (3) topographic characterization, and (4) hardwood stands to pure coniferous stands would increase the probability of fire by 5.8 times. Fernandes et al [23] also found differences in wildfire severity between stands of Pinus pinaster and other stands in the mountains of northwestern Portugal due to the patterns of fire propagation in combination with the fuel effect implicit in the change of cover type. In my opinion, the low relevance of IFN-2 variables in the analyses might be explained by differences in the scale (we used mean values for 10 × 10 km units) as well as in the stand characteristics selected.…”

Section: Fuel Components: Type Of Forest Vegetation and Type Of Land mentioning

confidence: 95%

Relative Contributions of Forest Vegetation, Land Cover, Topography and Climate in Explaining Fire Regime Patterns (1974–2005) in Peninsular Spain

Cueva

2012

ISRN Forestry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The relevance of forest fires as a major disturbance factor in vegetation composition, dynamics, and structure is increasing in several ecosystem types. In order to develop adaptation procedures and to strengthen the resilience under future altered fire regimes, it is important to gain a greater understanding of the factors involved in regional fire regimes. This paper evaluates the relative contributions of forest vegetation, land cover, topography, and climate in explaining the fire regime patterns. The analyses were performed independently for 15 territory types delimited according to potential vegetation criteria. Redundancy analysis was used to enable the simultaneous ordination of the response (fire regime) and the explanatory variables. The results reveal important differences among the 15 territories. The explained variance ranged from low to medium depending on the territory. However, for the five territories with greatest fire incidence, the variance explained was more than 39%. The proportion of territory covered by forest (derived from land cover information) was found to be the most relevant variable. Unexpectedly, the type of forest vegetation (derived from forest inventory data) appears to have played, at least in this approach and for some territories, a secondary role in explaining the registered fire regime patterns.

show abstract

Hot fire, cool soil

Stoof

Moore

Fernandes

et al. 2013

Geophysical Research Letters

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildfires greatly increase a landscape's vulnerability to flooding and erosion events by removing vegetation and changing soils. Fire damage to soil increases with increasing soil temperature, and, for fires where smoldering combustion is absent, the current understanding is that soil temperatures increase as fuel load and fire intensity increase. Here, however, we show that this understanding that is based on experiments under homogeneous conditions does not necessarily apply at the more relevant larger scale where soils, vegetation, and fire characteristics are heterogeneous. In a catchment‐scale fire experiment, soils were surprisingly cool where fuel load was high and fire was hot and, conversely, soils were hot where expected to be cooler. This indicates that the greatest fire damage to soil can occur where fuel load and fire intensity are low rather than high, and has important implications for management of fire‐prone areas prior to, during, and after fire events.

show abstract

Changes in wildfire severity from maritime pine woodland to contiguous forest types in the mountains of northwestern Portugal

Cited by 79 publications

References 67 publications

Assessing wildfire occurrence probability in Pinus pinaster Ait. stands in Portugal

Assessing wildfire occurrence probability in Pinus pinaster Ait. stands in Portugal

Relative Contributions of Forest Vegetation, Land Cover, Topography and Climate in Explaining Fire Regime Patterns (1974–2005) in Peninsular Spain

Hot fire, cool soil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About