Fire activity over Mediterranean Europe based on information from Meteosat-8

Amraoui, Malik; Liberato, Margarida L. R.; Calado, Teresa J.; DaCamara, Carlos C.; Coelho, Luís; Trigo, Ricardo M.; Gouveia, Célia M.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.08.032

Cited by 69 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…There is an high inter-annual variability of the fire incidence, with a few extremely high annual BA values which are a consequence of the occurrence of mega fires associated to extreme meteorological conditions Trigo et al, 2006;Pereira et al, 2011;Amraoui et al, 2013;Trigo et al, 2013). It is also worth noting the apparent oscillation between the periods of higher fire incidence among the countries of western and eastern Mediterranean as well as the higher average fire size in Greece which motivates further research that, however is out of the scope of this study.…”

Section: Thatmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…A recent review on the role of natural disturbances in European forests from 1850 to 2000 reveals that fires are the second most important disturbance (after the storms) been responsible for 16% of total damage over the 1950-2000 period (Schelhaas et al, 2003). A combination of natural factors (vegetation stress, slopping topography, weather and climate), with a long history of human management practices of natural environments by means of fire, that favour anthropogenic ignitions in the Mediterranean countries, makes this region especially prone to the occurrence of a large number of fire events and to the onset of extreme fire episodes that determine per se the majority of the total amount of burnt area (hereafter, BA) in a whole fire season (Viegas et al, 1992;Pereira et al, 2005;Pyne, 2006;Benson et al, 2008;Rasilla et al, 2010;Amraoui et al, 2013). Therefore, it is not surprising that the largest numbers of f ires and burnt area in Europe are found in southern European countries, namely Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece Schmuck et al, 2011;Amraoui et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A combination of natural factors (vegetation stress, slopping topography, weather and climate), with a long history of human management practices of natural environments by means of fire, that favour anthropogenic ignitions in the Mediterranean countries, makes this region especially prone to the occurrence of a large number of fire events and to the onset of extreme fire episodes that determine per se the majority of the total amount of burnt area (hereafter, BA) in a whole fire season (Viegas et al, 1992;Pereira et al, 2005;Pyne, 2006;Benson et al, 2008;Rasilla et al, 2010;Amraoui et al, 2013). Therefore, it is not surprising that the largest numbers of f ires and burnt area in Europe are found in southern European countries, namely Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece Schmuck et al, 2011;Amraoui et al, 2013). On the other hand, several authors reported that the Mediterranean region is considered a "hot spot" for climate change studies, not only because of its high sensitivity to changes in recent decades Solomon et al, 2007) but also for the most likely evolution of this region towards a hotter and drier climate, with a significant higher risk of intense heat wave episodes that favour the occurrence of large vegetation fires (Fischer and Schär, 2010;Lindner et al, 2010;Pereira et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land cover fire proneness in Europe

2014

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Aim of study: The characterization of the fuels is an important aspect of the fire regime in each specific ecosystem while fire is an important disturbance for global vegetation dynamics. This study aims to identify and characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of the fire incidence and of the vegetation types that are most affected by forest fires in Europe, with emphasis on the mixed forests.Area of study: Europe. Material and methods:Corine Land Cover maps for 2000 and 2006 (CLC2000, CLC2006) and burned area (BA) perimeters, from 2000 to 2013 in Europe are combined to access the spatial and temporal evolution of the types of vegetation that are most affected by fires using geostatistics and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques.Main results: The spatial and temporal distribution of BA perimeters, vegetation and burnt vegetation by fires was performed and different statistics were obtained for Mediterranean and northern Europe, confirming the usefulness of the used land cover classification. A fire proneness index (FPI) is proposed to assess the fire selectivity of land cover classes, to quantify and compare the propensity of vegetation classes and countries to fire.Research highlights: Mixed forests area is 5% of total European area but has increased 2.1% from 2000 to 2006, while other forest types followed an opposite trend. FPI for scrubs is twice (quadruple) of the value for the forests (agricultural areas) except during the occurrence of mega fire events, when the LCC of forest present higher FPI than the LCC of scrub.

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Section: Thatmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land cover fire proneness in Europe

2014

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“…Fire weather is fundamentally under the control of large-scale climate conditions with antecedent moisture anomalies and large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, further exacerbated by configuration of local winds, driving fire weather (Brotak and Reifsnyder 1977;Westerling et al 2002Westerling et al , 2006. It is therefore important to improve understanding of both short-and long-term atmospheric conditions in determining meteorological fire risk (Amraoui et al 2013).…”

Section: Fire Pests Invasive Species and Disturbance Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change impacts and adaptation in forest management: a review

Keenan

2015

Annals of Forest Science

483

303

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Abstract& Key message Adaptation of forest management to climate change requires an understanding of the effects of climate on forests, industries and communities; prediction of how these effects might change over time; and incorporation of this knowledge into management decisions. This requires multiple forms of knowledge and new approaches to forest management decisions. Partnerships that integrate researchers from multiple disciplines with forest managers and local actors can build a shared understanding of future challenges and facilitate improved decision making in the face of climate change.

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“…The phenomenon of adiabatic heating is well known in California as the Santa Ana winds may result in major wild fires, usually during the period of October through May, such as the previously mentioned Witch and Guejito fires [13]. Adiabatical heating has also been used to explain the conditions leading to the extreme wildfires in Greece and Italy during July and August 2007 [15]. This phenomenon is, however, usually not considered during winter time in cold climates, as pointed out in a winter time wild fire study by Sauvagnargues-Lesage et al [16].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold Climate Fire Risk; A Case Study of the Lærdalsøyri Fire, January 2014

Log

2015

Fire Technol

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Abstract. Parameters leading to the severity of the fire in Laerdalsøyri, Norway, January 18th to 19th 2014, have been analyzed. The fire in the first villa developed significantly faster than the fire fighters could handle and the fire quickly spread to other structures. In addition to 36 modern buildings, 4 historic buildings in Gamle Laerdalsøyri cultural heritage area were lost. Heroic effort of local and neighbor community fire brigades, police, military forces and volunteers prevented the fire from destroying the whole village, including the remaining 157 historic buildings. Adiabatically heated (low humidity) air from surrounding high mountains gave outdoor wood fuel moisture content (FMC) of about 7.6%. Inside inhabited buildings, it is shown that the wooden products reached about 4.5% FMC prior to the blaze. When ignited, this resulted in rapid fire development. Two story villas burned down in less than 1 h while producing much embers and firebrands. Strong shifting winds subsequently spread the fire to neighbor houses by flame contact (periodically 20 m long horizontal flames) and over long distances (200 m) by embers and firebrands. Based on the present work, an increased fire risk associated with low FMC in inhabited wooden houses during winter time can be predicted. This is of value when considering measures to reduce the probability of a fire outbreak as well as measures mitigating the escalation of a potential fire.

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Fire activity over Mediterranean Europe based on information from Meteosat-8

Cited by 69 publications

References 45 publications

Land cover fire proneness in Europe

Land cover fire proneness in Europe

Climate change impacts and adaptation in forest management: a review

Cold Climate Fire Risk; A Case Study of the Lærdalsøyri Fire, January 2014

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