Grandes incêndios florestais de março, junho e outubro (fora do período crítico) em Portugal continental

Fernandes, Sofia; Lourenço, Luciano

doi:10.14195/1647-7723_26-2_2

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In addition to occurring more frequently, there has also been an increase in the burnt area, accumulating to hundreds of thousands of hectares. One of the worst years was 2017, with a total of 442,418 hectares burned and 64 human lives lost in the region of Pedrogão Grande [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective Shrub Management to Preserve Mediterranean Forests and Reduce the Risk of Fire: The Case of Mainland Portugal

Raposo

Gomes

Nunes

2020

Fire

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The recurrent rural fires that occur annually in Portugal have reached great proportions due to a lack of effective landscape management. Attempts to solve this problem led to the legal imposition to cut back the vegetation in the fuel management areas, which has had a negative effect on biodiversity. National legislation protects three native plant species (Quercus suber, Q. rotundifolia and Ilex aquifolium). European legislation, through the Habitats Directive, also identifies some plant species that require strict protection, although it leaves out several endemic and rare plants. In this work we aim to differentiate the types of shrub plant material and their pyrophilic behavior, since the physical and chemical characteristics of vegetation can enhance or inhibit the progression of fire. Thus, based on phytosociological science, specifically at the class level, the dynamics of potential climatophilous vegetation in Portugal are presented and the classes that should be prioritized for control are identified. Based on ecology, it was possible to identify morphological patterns of vegetation. In short, the genera targeted for control under the National Forest Fire Protection Plan belong to the furthest states from the mature potential of a forest, generally consisting of heliophile shrubs and typically growing in degraded soils. The shrub species to be valued belong to dynamic states closer to the mature potential, consisting mainly of broad-leaved shrubs and those growing in better-preserved soils.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective Shrub Management to Preserve Mediterranean Forests and Reduce the Risk of Fire: The Case of Mainland Portugal

Raposo

Gomes

Nunes

2020

Fire

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“…This was due to an increase in both the number of fires and the burned areas, which made it difficult to determine why these fires occurred. As a result, between 1980 and 1981, the percentage of forest fires without a determined cause rose to 74%, with only 26% of fires being traced to a specific cause(S. Fernandes, 2015).…”

Section: The Main Causes Of Rural Fires In Portugalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Briefly, we can say that this method of investigation consists, in the first phase, of locating the point of the ignition, that is, where the fire started. To this end, the indicators related to the typical behavioural patterns of fire are evaluated, more specifically, the observation of the marks left on the plant fuels by the passage of the fire, as well as other characteristics, namely the relief, the meteorological conditions and the vegetable fuels, which will allow us to understand the direction of the progression and, in this way, to locate the starting point(P. M. Fernandes et al, 2016;S. Fernandes, 2015).…”

Section: The Main Causes Of Rural Fires In Portugalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After making a determination, the entire site is investigated by a team whose purpose is to collect both physical evidence (surrounding environment and deflagration conditions) and human evidence (testimony of persons). They use a specific form to gather the data, which can then be cross-referenced to fit into one of the categories present in the classification of causes (P. M. Fernandes et al, 2016;S. Fernandes, 2015).…”

Section: The Main Causes Of Rural Fires In Portugalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Relationship between Wind Conditions and Fire Ignition Causes: Central Portugal Case Study

Carreira dos Santos,

Lopes,

Mazur

2024

Preprint

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In recent decades the Mediterranean area observed an increase in large fires, despite the decrease in the number of fire ignitions, following a worldwide tendency. Climate change has been the main culprit for large burnt areas, and alterations of forest ecosystems, resulting in the increased recurrence of forest fires. In Portugal, the analogous trend resulted in the destruction of large rural, urban and industrial areas, where after the 2017 months of June and October catastrophic events, the government implemented the 2019 specific policies for preventing fire outbreaks and defending the forest against fires. This compulsory policy demanded that landowners and local governments alike needed to contact specific authorities requesting authorization for their intentions to clean properties in and around urban areas, roads, and forest limits. Despite policy and careful monitoring, ignitions still occur, and in many cases resulting from the implementation of such policies. The study analyses the before and after policy implementation, considering 6904 ignitions records from the period between 2014 and 2023 from the central area of Portugal, covering the transition area between the agricultural fields of the Tagus valley and the Monte-junto-Estrela Mountain range, the district of Santarém. The authorization to use fire in clearance practices is granted according to a set of weather conditions, temperature, wind intensity, and relative humidity, when analyzing fire ignitions with the average daily wind intensity at the site of the occurrence, we observed that more than half of wildfires occur on days with winds between 10 and 20 Km/h, whereas intensities greater than 30 Km/h only 1% of the total occurrences, and of these 22% occurred due to the use of fire in the burning of agricultural leftovers and cut and piled bushes. The circulation of the thermal depression in the Iberian Peninsula gives rise to increasing intensity throughout the day, reaching a maximum in the late afternoon, this factor combined with the misjudgment of safe conditions leads us to suggest stricter intervals and the need for awareness of daily variation in conditions.

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“…Prescribed fire effectiveness varies depending on vegetation and treatment types [28,48]. In open, single-layered vegetation types, prescribed fire can be stand-replacing, removing the grass or shrub layer while leaving unburnt patches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing Wildfire Prevention through the Integration of Prescribed Burning into ‘Fire-Smart’ Land-Use Policies

Pais,

Aquilué,

Honrado

et al. 2023

Fire

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Integrating fire into land management is crucial in fire-prone regions. To evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of prescribed fire (PF), we employed the REMAINS model in NW Iberia’s Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Gerês-Xurés. We tested three levels of prescribed fire treatment effort for shrubland and grassland, employing three spatial allocation strategies: random distribution, prioritization in high-wildfire-risk zones, and creating fuel breaks by utilizing the existing road network. These approaches were assessed in isolation and in combination with three land-use scenarios: Business-as-usual (representing rural abandonment trends), High Nature Value farmland (reversing farmland abandonment), and Fire-Smart forest management (promoting fire-resistant landscapes). Our results confirm that PF is effective in reducing future wildfires (reductions up to 36%), with leverage values ranging from 0.07 to 0.45. Strategic spatial allocation, targeting wildfire-risk areas and existing road networks, is essential for maximizing prescribed fire’s efficiency (leverage effort of 0.32 and 0.45; i.e., approximately 3 ha of PF decrease subsequent wildfire by 1 ha). However, the PF treatments yield the best efficiency when integrated into land-use policies promoting ‘fire-smart’ landscapes (reaching leverage values of up to 1.78 under policies promoting ‘HNVf and ‘fire-smart’ forest conversion). These recommendations strengthen wildfire prevention and enhance landscape resilience in fire-prone regions.

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Grandes incêndios florestais de março, junho e outubro (fora do período crítico) em Portugal continental

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

Selective Shrub Management to Preserve Mediterranean Forests and Reduce the Risk of Fire: The Case of Mainland Portugal

Selective Shrub Management to Preserve Mediterranean Forests and Reduce the Risk of Fire: The Case of Mainland Portugal

The Relationship between Wind Conditions and Fire Ignition Causes: Central Portugal Case Study

Optimizing Wildfire Prevention through the Integration of Prescribed Burning into ‘Fire-Smart’ Land-Use Policies

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