Publicação
Spatial patterns of fire occurrence in Southern Europe. Long-term assessment and environmental drivers
| Resumo: | Wildland fires are recurrent events in Europe, with higher incidence in Southern Mediterranean countries. Despite the ancient relationship between fire and environment in this region, changes in fire regime and land use cause damaging impacts. This research investigates the structural factors that drive fire occurrence in Southern Europe and their variability across several countries, focusing on three key aspects: the interactions between fire and landcover, a fundamental component of fire dynamics; the modelling of fire likelihood in the long-term in the most affected-countries; the identification of the global and local drivers of fire density and burned area. The results evidenced the importance of climatic and vegetation conditions throughout the region. The geographical areas and vegetation-types most susceptible to burn were identified, as well as local and regional differences in the influencing factors. Non-summer precipitation and predominance of shrublands and grasslands are significant, at different levels according to the location. Human factors, among which roads density and agricultural activities, were mainly linked with fire ignitions. This research can contribute to the definition of targeted and more efficient fire management strategies for Southern Europe, besides fostering international collaboration, when shared issues among countries can benefit from transnational solutions. |
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| Autores principais: | Oliveira, Sandra Isabel Santos de |
| Assunto: | fire occurrence fire likelihood spatial patterns driving factors Southern Europe |
| Ano: | 2013 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | tese de doutoramento |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | Wildland fires are recurrent events in Europe, with higher incidence in Southern Mediterranean countries. Despite the ancient relationship between fire and environment in this region, changes in fire regime and land use cause damaging impacts. This research investigates the structural factors that drive fire occurrence in Southern Europe and their variability across several countries, focusing on three key aspects: the interactions between fire and landcover, a fundamental component of fire dynamics; the modelling of fire likelihood in the long-term in the most affected-countries; the identification of the global and local drivers of fire density and burned area. The results evidenced the importance of climatic and vegetation conditions throughout the region. The geographical areas and vegetation-types most susceptible to burn were identified, as well as local and regional differences in the influencing factors. Non-summer precipitation and predominance of shrublands and grasslands are significant, at different levels according to the location. Human factors, among which roads density and agricultural activities, were mainly linked with fire ignitions. This research can contribute to the definition of targeted and more efficient fire management strategies for Southern Europe, besides fostering international collaboration, when shared issues among countries can benefit from transnational solutions. |
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