Author(s):
Fernandes, Paulo 
; Terhi, Vilén
Date: 2011
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10348/1499
Origin: Repositório da UTAD
Subject(s): Forest fires; Prescribed burning; CO2 emissions; Kyoto protocol
Document details
Forest fires in Mediterranean countries: CO2 emissions and mitigation possibili...
Description
Forest fires are integral to the Mediterranean Basin but fire incidence has increased dramatically during the past decades and fire is expected to become more prevalent in the future due to climate change. Fuel modification by prescribed burning reduces the spread and intensity potential of subsequent wildfires. We used the most recent published data to calculate the average annual wildfire CO2 emissions in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain following the IPCC guidelines. The effect of prescribed burning on emissions was calculated for four scenarios of prescribed burning effectiveness based on data from Portugal. Results show that prescribed burning could have a considerable effect on the carbon balance of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector in Mediterranean countries. However, uncertainty in emission estimates remains large, and more accurate data is needed, especially regarding fuel load and fuel consumption in different vegetation types and fuel layers and the total area protected from wildfire per unit area treated by prescribed burning, i.e. the leverage of prescribed burning.
Forest fires are integral to the Mediterranean Basin but fire incidence has increased dramatically during the past decades and fire is expected to become more prevalent in the future due to climate change. Fuel modification by prescribed burning reduces the spread and intensity potential of subsequent wildfires. We used the most recent published data to calculate the average annual wildfire CO2 emissions in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain following the IPCC guidelines. The effect of prescribed burning on emissions was calculated for four scenarios of prescribed burning effectiveness based on data from Portugal. Results show that prescribed burning could have a considerable effect on the carbon balance of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector in Mediterranean countries. However, uncertainty in emission estimates remains large, and more accurate data is needed, especially regarding fuel load and fuel consumption in different vegetation types and fuel layers and the total area protected from wildfire per unit area treated by prescribed burning, i.e. the leverage of prescribed burning.
Document Type
Article
Language English
Language English
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