Life+ Cost-efficient integration of megafire prevention into forest management in the Mediterranean

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Forest fires are the greatest natural threat to the forests of southern Europe. Although fire is an intrinsic disturbance to Mediterranean forests, the abandonment of rural areas, along with measures to eradicate certain species, has led to increased forest cover and biomass undergrowth. These developments are responsible for the emergence of second-generation fire: large forest fires or megafires. These megafires result in human casualties, damage to properties, reduced soil fertility and reduced biodiversity. An average of 500 000 acres are damaged by fire annually in Europe, resulting in large emissions of CO2 and other gases. IPCC climate change forecasts predict longer dry periods and more periods of strong wind and higher temperatures, and thus an increased risk of large forest fires. European policy promotes the prevention of megafires by encouraging active forest management and silvicultural treatments that reduce the vulnerability of stands to fire. Since 2004, Catalonia has been developing a set of new silvicultural models, called the ORGEST models, which integrate megafire prevention.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the DEMORGEST project was to prevent the generation and propagation of large forest fires. The project planned to demonstrate to forest owners (owning 77% of the forestry area of Catalonia) and forest professionals that the proposed ORGEST forestry models are a feasible, viable and easy-to-adopt means of managing forests and protecting them from megafires. The proposed approach aimed to apply the models in two pilot areas with high fire risk, but different socio-economic characteristics, as a part of a fire prevention plan for two specific massifs. It also aimed to demonstrate the application of the ORGEST models in the widest possible range of scenarios, using a network of experimental and demonstrative sites located in seven forest typologies spread across Catalonia. These plots would facilitate the knowledge-transfer process (from planning to execution and subsequent monitoring and dissemination) while improving the contents and the theoretical framework of the different ORGEST treatments implemented based on their practical application and the comments of all stakeholders engaged in the different phases, such as research staff, owners, forestry company and forestry technicians. As such, these models could then be transferred to other Mediterranean countries.

Specifically, the planned aimed to:

Reduce the vulnerability of Catalan forests to megafires by facilitating the adoption of new silvicultural models by private forest owners and forest professionals;

Build the capacity of forest owners and forest professionals on new ways to protect forests from fires; and

Raise awareness among the general population, as well as in industrial sectors, on the role of sustainable forest management in the fight against megafires.

RESULTS

The LIFE DEMORGEST project tested the most innovative ORGEST models in situ on a landscape scale and at stand scale. For the first scale, two fire-prone areas with differentiated socioeconomic characteristics were selected, one with Aleppo pine forests and the other one with black pine forests. For each area, ‘strategic management points’ were identified and the ORGEST model was applied at these points. In this way, treating a small area of 27 ha, for example, can help protect a much larger area, around 3 200 ha, from a large fire.

At the scale of the stand scale, 10 ORGEST models were applied in seven Mediterranean formations, in order to create a network of demonstration plots, with the following species: Pinus halepensis, Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris, Quercus ilex, Quercus suber, Quercus humilis and Pinus pinea.

Additionally, four ‘marteloscopes’ (transfer classrooms) were created. These are wooded stands, covering around a hectare, in which all the trees are numbered and measured. They serve as open areas to generate discussion among experts and students. They also allow felling marking practices to be carried out using different management criteria and objectives.

The forest management activities had several observable impacts:

Reduction of fire risk: the project showed that under usual wind conditions the characteristics of a fire (the rate at which it spreads, the height of the flames and the heat emitted per unit area) are always lower than those that occur on untreated stands, making it very hard for the fire to become a crown fire;

Buffer effect on the microclimate: by monitoring the temperature and humidity, the project showed that the leaves of treated stands have a greater moisture content, which increases their resistance to forest fires;

Carbon flow: the ORGEST productive and preventive-productive models have an annual CO2 absorption rate per hectare that is 60% higher than that in non-management scenarios. The ORGEST models that aim to reduce vulnerability thus help maintain the accumulated carbon and avoid CO2 emissions associated with forest fires;

Water use efficiency: the study carried out concluded that the ORGEST models applied in Pinus nigra, P. halepensis and P. sylvestris use water more efficiently than non-management scenarios, with rates up to 40% higher;

Potential biodiversity: the study carried out highlighted that by keeping a limited number of elements, such as trees with unusual features (trees with microhabitats, species with fleshy fruit, rare species, trees with a large diameter and large pieces of deadwood) and the structure of the stand (covering strata and open spaces), can maintain or even improve biodiversity in managed forests.

The project results were disseminated through training sessions in the marteloscopes and the publication of 11 technical documents and articles in specialised magazines and the general press. Around 740 participants attended training sessions while 34 forestry workers received instruction.

Finally, the organisation responsible for granting private owners permits for forest activities, CPF, reports that the extent of forests managed following the ORGEST models has increased significantly since the start of the project. The project beneficiaries moreover calculated the potential benefits in terms of ecosystem services of the large-scale roll out of the methodology. They estimated that investing €27 456 in managing a forest of 17.6 ha.

Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).