Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe: A Synthesis of National Perspectives

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009–2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action “Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society” funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence

First results on early post-fire succession in an Abies cephalonica forest (Parnitha National Park, Greece)

Due to climate changes, the interest in the post-fire recovery of forest communities not adapted to wildfires, such as Greek fir (Abies cephalonica) forests, has increased. In this study, the post-fire recovery of the burned A. cephalonica forest of Parnitha National Park (central Greece) was investigated after a stand-replacing fire occurred in summer 2007, as well as the performance of A. cephalonica plantings in the post-fire conditions. The research focused on the estimation of the A. cephalonica stand reproductive capacity without fire, the evaluation of the post-fire regeneration of the burned stands, and the monitoring of the plantations performance after the fire in the area. Then, based on the field and laboratory data, the post-fire recovery process of A. cephalonica was evaluated by application of a simplified form of the comprehensive causal framework for ecological succession estimation in open site, developed by Pickett et al. (1987), adapted to the study conditions. According to the findings of the study, stand seed crop without fire was high, while seed quality was found extremely low. In the burned area, no A. cephalonica seedling recruitment was observed during the three years after the fire. A. cephalonica plantings exhibited a medium overall survival rate (65.3%), while seedlings growth was very slow. Thus, we can suppose that an ecological succession process may occur in the burned area, if no human interventions applied, and species adapted to wildfires (mainly shrubs and herbaceous) will dominate in the area. However, planting of A. cephalonica seedlings could contribute to the species participation in the post-fire communities

Impact of regional climatic conditions on tree growth on mainland Greece

Forest growth is commonly used to explore tree vitality and ability to resist to environmental changes or climatic fluctuations. This paper illustrates and examines how regional climatic conditions can be related to the decline of tree growth, which were found to be more distinct in Quercus frainetto Ten. (Hungarian oak) and Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech) and less pronounced in Abies borissi-regis Matt f. (Bulgarian fir) on three long-term intensive monitoring plots (ICP Forests-Level II) in Greece during the period 1996–2009. Relative basal area increment and volume increment were calculated, expressing tree growth in terms of mean relative annual periodic increment. A decline in the growth of basal area and volume was observed after hot and dry periods, where annual temperatures and precipitation were far from the mean of the analyzed period. This observation was statistically confirmed in oak and beech plots regarding summer precipitation only and are in agreement with the findings of previous studies in Europe. The representativeness of the results at a national scale needs further investigation, although our results provide a good basis for further and more intensive monitoring programs to address various forest management scenarios against the background of potential climatic changes in the Mediterranean area

Interannual variability of germination and cone/seed morphometric characteristics in the endemic Grecian fir (Abies cephalonica) over an 8-year-long study

Abies cephalonica cone and seed morphometric characteristics as well as seed germination behaviour were investigated during an 8-year-long diachronic study (2007-2015). The research was carried out in Parnitha National Park, in the part of this Greek endemic, silver fir population that was spared from an unprecedented wildfire (2007). A statistically significant interannual and among-tree variation of cone traits has been identified, except for cone diameter. Cone length is correlated to the number of seeds per cone, while the percentage of empty seeds has been consistently high, with extreme values of 29.3 and 81.8% in a masting (2015) and lean crop (2009) year, respectively. There is also a considerable proportion of dead (including infected) and non-germinated seeds, and the eventual germinable fraction is well below 25% with spikes in masting years (39.4 and 60.9% in 2010 and 2015, respectively). Untreated seeds have been tested at a wide range of constant and alternating temperatures and germination is completed within 4-5 weeks at T ≥ 15°C and ca 15 weeks at 5-10°C. A chilling pretreatment of 4-8 weeks (at 2-4°C) concludes germination at 15-20°C within 2 weeks. A significant white light requirement has been observed for untreated seeds at 15-20°C, while germination was light indifferent at lower or higher temperatures. Data obtained in this study confirm the present, field seed germination during springtime; we may also predict an earlier germination (late autumn to mid-winter) in forest gaps, under the predicted, warmer conditions in the future. © Copyright Cambridge University Press 2017

The distribution and variability of heavy metals in a mountainous fir forest ecosystem in two hydrological years

The concentrations (for two hydrological years) of the heavy metals As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb as well as the isotopic206Pb/207Pb composition in soil layers were studied in a remote mountainous Bulgarian fir (Abies borisii regis) forest in central Greece. The concentrations of metals in the hydrological cycle (bulk deposition and throughfall) were lower than the respective ones in the past in Europe, especially for Pb. In the litterfall consisting of mosses, lichens, insect frass and pollen the concentrations of all heavy metals were found far higher than those in the needle litterfall. An evidence of dry deposition was that all metals had higher concentrations in older needles than the young ones with the exception of Ni. Ni also had the highest concentration in the trunk wood, whereas all the other metals had a very low one. It is highly probable that Ni has an internal cycle within the fir trees. In all compartments of the standing trees the order of concentrations was Ni>Pb>Cr>Cd>As. The concentrations of metals in the ground vegetation were low with the exception of Cd, Cr and Ni in ferns. The concentrations of metals in the FH horizon and mineral soil followed the order Cr>Ni>Pb>As>Cd, whereas in the L layer Ni had the highest value. Despite the remoteness of the fir forest, the percentages of anthropogenic Pb in the soil reached an appreciable 41% in the FH horizon and lowered to 2% in the 20-40 cm layers. © 2018, Global NEST. All rights reserved