The 2009 Smouldering Peat Fire in Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park (Spain)

Abstract

Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park (TDNP), recognized as both Biosphere reserve by UNESCO and Ramsar site, is one of the last representatives in the Iberian Peninsula of Mediterranean wetlands linked to groundwater dynamics. It constitutes an outstanding flora and fauna reserve. The inappropriate agricultural management of the groundwater resources that support the system has caused the drying up of the wetland from 2004 to 2009. As a consequence, a smouldering peat fire started inside the TDNP in August 2009. This fire poses an enormous risk for both the physical structure supporting the ecosystem and the quality of groundwater beneath it. The situation got worse in September when a surface fire in the eastern limit of the Park, 3.5 km away from the first underground seat, transmitted to the subsoil giving rise to a second smouldering peat fire outside the Park. The analysis of key parameters monitored in several locations of the TDNP at different depths, such as soil moisture, temperature and organic matter content, shows there was enough previous evidence to foresee the peat self-combustion and the risk that any surface fire could be transmitted to the subsoil. The relatively small size of the Park, the knowledge of the spatial distribution of peat masses, together with the detailed knowledge about soil and vadose zone structure, have allowed to design and execute an emergency plan to hold the fire back. The experience has allowed to check for strong and weak points in the vigilance and alert system implemented, to confirm the effectiveness of the measures applied for the fire control and to propose short and long term actions for preventing fires from starting in the future.

Computational study of critical moisture and depth of burn in peat fires

“…After burnout, the residue left is very small in mass, and made of ash at the top and char below. This is the typical composition of the residue found after smouldering wildfires in the field (Moreno et al 2011) and experiments (Zaccone et al 2014).…”

Long‐term effects of aquifer overdraft and recovery on groundwater quality in a Ramsar wetland: Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park, Spain

“…Levels fell as a result, although not as much as in the early 1990s. During this sequence, the wetland suffered obvious deterioration, partly due to the fires that resulted from spontaneous peatland combustion (Moreno et al, ). The final stage begins with the floods that took place in 2010.…”

“…This has often led to the lowering of groundwater tables and to the ensuing desiccation of groundwater-dependent springs and wetlands (Castaño, Martínez-Santos, & Martínez-Alfaro, 2008;Martínez-Santos, De Stefano, Martínez-Alfaro, & Llamas, 2008). Other unwanted consequences of aquifer overexploitation include water quality degradation, land subsidence, or the spontaneous combustion of peatlands (Custodio, 2002;Moreno, Jiménez, Aguilera, Jiménez, & De la Losa, 2011). All these effects have been observed in Las Tablas de Daimiel, a set of Mediterranean wetlands located in Spain's central plateau.…”

Services Evolution of Two Groundwater Dependent Wetland Ecosystems in the “Mancha Húmeda” Biosphere Reserve (Spain)

“…The lower water table level in the WMA has left peat deposits in the saturated zone exposed to aerobic conditions. As these deposits were then within the non-saturated zone, the peat was subject to spontaneous combustion processes, as occurred in the 1980s [34,35], and more recently in 2009 [36] posing a severe threat to the physical structure of the ecosystem and the quality of the underlying groundwater. (c) Human drivers of ecosystem change have affected the capacity of this wetland to store carbon and carbon flow, as shown in research on the sedimentary record, including geochemistry and pollen studies, together with historical data [37].…”