Incorporating fire-smartness into agricultural policies reduces suppression costs and ecosystem services damages from wildfires

Journal of Environmental Management, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 337, С. 117707 - 117707

Опубликована: Март 27, 2023

In southern Europe, land abandonment and an unbalanced investment toward fire suppression instead of prevention has gradually increased wildfire risk, which calls for a paradigm change in management policies. Here we combined scenario analysis, landscape modelling, economic tools to identify land-use policies would reduce the expected wildfire-related losses Transboundary Biosphere Reserve 'Gerês-Xurés' (Spain-Portugal). To do so, applied least-cost-plus-net-value-change approach estimated net changes damages based on their implications 2010–2050 period five ecosystem services: agriculture, pasture, timber, recreation climate regulation. Four scenarios were considered: (1) Business as Usual (BAU); (2) fire-smart, fostering more fire-resistant (less flammable) and/or fire-resilient landscapes (fire-smart); (3) High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf), wherein extensive agriculture is reversed; (4) combination HNVf fire-smart. best cost savings, but it generates lowest present value societal benefits from fact, most efficient with discounted costs services + fire-smart scenario, also savings agricultural expansion, lead significant reduction timber recreational benefits. Therefore, reverting through recultivation promoting tree species way hazard. this sense, payments should reward farmers landowners role prevention. This study improves understanding financial derived reducing spending damage by undertaking strategies, can be essential enhance local stakeholders' support Payments Ecosystem Services

Язык: Английский

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Nature-based solutions to wildfires in rural landscapes of Southern Europe: let’s be fire-smart!

International Journal of Wildland Fire, Год журнала: 2023, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Янв. 1, 2023

Extreme wildfires are expected to increase in Southern Europe, due climate change and rural abandonment. Fire management is focused on suppression, which accelerates the transition more flammable landscapes. Here, we synthesise knowledge acquired over 'FirESmart' project (https://firesmartproject.wordpress.com). Our findings show how agroforestry policies could benefit biodiversity while providing further fire suppression opportunities. The EU Green Deal offers an opportunity incorporate 'fire-smartness' into upcoming policies. Still, if these fail at reversing abandonment, use of enhance rewilding tree-planting as 'climate-smart' strategies fire-prone mountains Europe.

Язык: Английский

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Fostering Post-Fire Research Towards a More Balanced Wildfire Science Agenda to Navigate Global Environmental Change

Fire, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 8(2), С. 51 - 51

Опубликована: Янв. 26, 2025

As wildfires become more frequent and severe in the face of global environmental change, it becomes crucial not only to assess, prevent, suppress them but also manage aftermath effectively. Given temporal interconnections between these issues, we explored concept “wildfire science loop”—a framework categorizing wildfire research into three stages: “before”, “during”, “after” wildfires. Based on this partition, performed a systematic review by linking particular topics keywords each stage, aiming describe one quantify volume published research. The results from our identified substantial imbalance landscape, with post-fire stage being markedly underrepresented. Research focusing is 1.5 times (or 46%) less prevalent than that “before” 1.8 77%) “during” stage. This discrepancy likely driven historical emphasis prevention suppression due immediate societal needs. Aiming address overcome imbalance, present perspectives regarding strategic agenda enhance understanding processes outcomes, emphasizing socioecological impacts management recovery multi-level transdisciplinary approach. These proposals advocate integrating knowledge-driven burn severity ecosystem mitigation/recovery practical, application-driven strategies policy development. supports comprehensive spans short-term emergency responses long-term adaptive management, ensuring landscapes are better understood, managed, restored. We emphasize critical importance “after-fire” breaking negative planning cycles, enhancing practices, implementing nature-based solutions vision “building back better”. Strengthening balanced focused will ability close loop involved improve alignment international agendas such as UN’s Decade Ecosystem Restoration EU’s Nature Law. By addressing can significantly restore ecosystems, resilience, develop suited challenges rapidly changing world.

Язык: Английский

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Governance drivers hinder and support a paradigm shift in wildfire risk management in Italy

Regional Environmental Change, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 24(1)

Опубликована: Янв. 13, 2024

Abstract Fire is a fundamental social-ecological process, but combination of changing climate, land use and values at risk increasing the incidence large wildfires with high societal biodiversity impacts. Academic practitioner understanding now converging around need to manage fire as an outcome intersecting governance regimes, comprising geohistorically defined institutions decision-making pathways shaped by earlier wildfires. We investigate this proposition through case study Italy, country greatly affected wildfire characterised strong organisational, socio-cultural geographical variation nationally. To best our knowledge, first collecting analysing qualitative data on how different national sub-national procedures interrelate promote particular management strategies, support or impede adaptive change. Participants in key agencies were consulted across seven nationally representative regions. Findings show highly fragmented institutional structure, where policy responsibilities are increasingly allocated disparate organisations variety scales. Local stakeholder participation has been displaced shift extra-local actors networks. While formally committed adopting precautionary approach risk, practice, emergency response remains default choice, result patchy uncoordinated legislation. Notably, wider international (EU) regulatory context plays muted role governing present results novel action research agenda for Italy southern Europe more generally, emphasising urgent develop new anticipatory systems closer integration cross-scale arrangements.

Язык: Английский

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

Fire, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 6(12), С. 457 - 457

Опубликована: Дек. 1, 2023

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

Язык: Английский

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Will fire-smart landscape management buffer the effects of climate and land-use changes on fire regimes?

Ecological Processes, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 13(1)

Опубликована: Авг. 1, 2024

Abstract Background Long-term farmland abandonment has increased fuel build-up in many Euro-Mediterranean mountainous regions. The high hazard these landscapes, combined with ongoing climate change, is increasing the frequency of extreme wildfires, thus altering contemporary fire regimes. Mitigating loss landscape’s capacity to regulate large and intense fires crucial prevent future harmful effects fires. As such, effective strategies manage fire-prone landscapes are needed. Yet, further understanding their performance under global change scenarios required. This study assessed fire-smart management on landscape dynamics, regulation (FRC), regime a Mediterranean Portugal (30,650 ha) undergoing long-term land scenarios. For that, we applied LANDIS-II model (RCP 4.5 8.5) (2020–2050) according three focused prevention compared business-as-usual (BAU) strategy based suppression. Results Future activity dynamics resulted changes that fostered heterogeneity fragmentation favoured fire-adapted forests agroforestry systems while decreasing dominance shrublands croplands. FRC decreased over time, particularly RCP 8.5 BAU strategy. In turn, better prevented than strategy, but effectiveness 8.5. burned area frequency, which predicts shift from regimes more markedly Conclusions Fire-smart outperformed averting current intensification. Merging forest- silvopasture-based most promising approach taming activity. Our underlines planning policies mountain must integrate decrease buffer impact

Язык: Английский

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And it burns, burns, burns, the ring-of-fire: Reviewing and harmonizing terminology on wildfire management and policy

Environmental Science & Policy, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 157, С. 103776 - 103776

Опубликована: Май 14, 2024

In recent decades, extreme wildfire seasons worldwide have disrupted coupled human and natural systems owing to both changing climatic conditions inadequate land fire management policies. Given that wildfires are expected become more frequent, the number of relevant scientific studies has also boomed in years. Simultaneously, shifts approaches resulted development new policies vice versa. Originating from diverse fields, terminology used research policy communities is far consistent, which hinders science-based, up-to-date engagement between researchers policymakers. Hence, this study aims harmonize on key concepts establish a typology for systematically classifying all actions observed literature. We conducted scoping literature review developed cyclical analytical framework, called ring-of-fire, drawing conceptions public policy, respectively. Consequently, we propose criteria establishing common dialogue actors by providing system presenting reference definitions. Furthermore, present results geographical regions regarding discuss use "fire suppression" concept given its ambiguity. This highlights importance consistent interpreting differences types. hope removing linguistic uncertainty management-related will result rigorous terms among scientists while clarifying their communication scientists, policymakers, broader public.

Язык: Английский

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Uncovering hazards and adaptive capacity: A comprehensive risk assessment study in three conservation areas in Spain

Forest Ecology and Management, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 572, С. 122324 - 122324

Опубликована: Окт. 3, 2024

Язык: Английский

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Integrative literature review on co-concepts in connection with nature-based solutions

Environmental Science & Policy, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 169, С. 104073 - 104073

Опубликована: Апрель 24, 2025

Язык: Английский

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A Bayesian framework linking perceived social-ecological effectiveness to stakeholder acceptance in China's Sousa chinensis protected areas

Journal of Environmental Management, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 387, С. 125839 - 125839

Опубликована: Май 23, 2025

Enhancing stakeholder acceptance of marine protected areas (MPAs) is key to fulfilling the 30 × Target, ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals, and UN Decade Ocean Science for (2021-2030). These require MPAs not merely as management interventions, but also social-ecological systems (SESs), where effectiveness complex coupling social ecological through interactions. However, relationships between perceived are often indirect mediated, while traditional models can yield statistical instabilities, risking false conclusions. This article tentatively proposes a partially informative Bayesian posterior framework with three steps five criteria, using theoretically based regulator formula an inverse-Wishart prior in penalized likelihood function stricter estimates. Using field surveys remote sensing data China's Sousa chinensis MPAs, study explores proposed perceptions. estimates improved model convergence, positive definiteness nonsingularity, revealing average 63 % underestimation standard errors. Monte Carlo bootstrapping suggested chain mediation layered mechanisms, whereby related stakeholder-MPA interaction. Practical implications include socially effective conservation, community-based activities, monitoring by scientific community. The more methods may offer preliminary insights broader biological conservation settings practices, subject contextual adaptations.

Язык: Английский

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