Development of Comprehensive Fuel Management Strategies for Reducing Wildfire Risk in Greece

Abstract

A solution to the growing problem of catastrophic wildfires in Greece will require a more holistic fuel management strategy that focuses more broadly on landscape fire behavior and risk in relation to suppression tactics and ignition prevention. Current fire protection planning is either non-existent or narrowly focused on reducing fuels in proximity to roads and communities where ignitions are most likely. A more effective strategy would expand the treatment footprint to landscape scales to reduce fire intensity and increase the likelihood of safe and efficient suppression activities. However, expanding fuels treatment programs on Greek landscapes that are highly fragmented in terms of land use and vegetation requires: (1) a better understanding of how diverse land cover types contribute to fire spread and intensity; and (2) case studies, both simulated and empirical, that demonstrate how landscape fuel management strategies can achieve desired outcomes in terms of fire behavior. In this study, we used Lesvos Island, Greece as a study area to characterize how different land cover types and land uses contribute to fire exposure and used wildfire simulation methods to understand how fire spreads among parcels of forests, developed areas, and other land cover types (shrublands, agricultural areas, and grasslands) as a way to identify fire source–sink relationships. We then simulated a spatially coordinated fuel management program that targeted the fire prone conifer forests that generally burn under the highest intensity. The treatment effects were measured in terms of post-treatment fire behavior and transmission. The results demonstrated an optimized method for fuel management planning that accounts for the connectivity of wildfire among different land types. The results also identified the scale of risk and the limitations of relying on small scattered fuel treatment units to manage long-term wildfire risk.

Understanding the Impact of Different Landscape-Level Fuel Management Strategies on Wildfire Hazard in Central Portugal

“…Science can contribute with knowledge and tools for more effective landscape fuel management, thus improving planning and decision-making. Previous research has shown how fire spread simulation tools can be used to assess wildfire exposure at the landscape level [19][20][21], quantify associated risk [22][23][24], study wildfire transmission [25,26] and identify optimal fuel treatment location [27,28]. These simulation tools have also proven useful to quantify the potential impact of climate change on wildfire incidence [29] and of mitigation measures on post-fire erosion and water contamination [30,31].…”

Os incendios forestais do cambio global xa estan aquí

“…É importante decatarse de que a nova situación require actuar sobre os combustibles a escala da paisaxe xa que é o escenario onde resulta esencial alterar a conectividade dos combustibles (Viedma et al 2009, Ager et al 2017, Alcasena et al 2019, Martín-Martín et al 2013, Salis et al 2018, Sil et al 2019, Palaiologou et al 2020) para poder influír en incendios como os dos eventos extremos, que desenvolven tamén unha dinámica de propagación a grande escala, cunha enorme potencia e que posiblemente tenderán a incrementarse cada vez máis, probablemente involucrando de forma crecente áreas habitadas. Iso esixe accións transversais de coordinación de diferentes departamentos da Administración e priorización dos criterios de prevención de incendios nas diferentes actuacións levadas a cabo por eles.…”

A Fire Revealing Coastal Norway’s Wildland–Urban Interface Challenges and Possible Low-Cost Sustainable Solutions

“…Megafires, often defined as burning more than 10,000 ha (100 km 2 ), consume large amounts of biomass, and release huge amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere [ 5 ]. Due to climate change, the megafires are intensified and the fire seasons prolonged, creating increasing challenges for fire management [ 6 , 7 ]. “Climate-fuelled megafires” have, therefore, gained global attention.…”