Using stakeholder-developed forest management maps to model fire reduction treatment effects on forest fire

Changing climatic conditions are amplifying the frequency and intensity of hydroclimatic extremes across Europe. Droughts, heatwaves, intense precipitation and floods increasingly co-occur and cascade, creating compound risks for ecosystems and societies. One of the most visible and severe consequences of these interconnected crises is the growing global threat of forest fires, which are more often facilitated by favorable weather conditions, as well as forest structure and fuel properties. However, the most important cause of fires is related to human pressure, resulting from intentional or unintentional activities that contribute to the outbreak of fires.Forests are an assemblage of diverse habitats, each of which may differ markedly in fire risk and fire behaviour. Here, we examine how fire occurrence in Poland varies among forest habitat types, land-use patterns and management functions, and how these relationships are shaped by interannual meteorological variability and regional context. We compile (i) forest fire records for Poland for 2019-2024, (ii) a 2024 state forest administration database of forest divisions (i.e., basic forest management units) including habitat type, dominant tree species and main forest function, (iii) a database of socio-economic indicators for country's administrative units, and (iv) annual meteorological characteristics relevant to fire weather. This enables a spatially explicit analysis of fire frequency and (where available) burnt area across heterogeneous forest landscapes, while accounting for administrative-region differences and socio-economic factors that may reflect contrasting management practices, accessibility, and human ignition pressure.We quantify fire occurrences in 2019-2024 for distinct forest area types (classified by habitat, dominant tree species and function) and evaluate their sensitivity to meteorological conditions across years. The analysis is designed to identify which combinations of forest habitat, tree species, forest function, and local socio-economic structure show consistently elevated fire incidence, whether observed changes between 2019 and 2024 are uniform or regionally differentiated across Poland, and to determine which meteorological characteristics best explain interannual variability in forest fire occurrence. By integrating ecological and forest management attributes with fire records and meteorological context, the study provides an empirical basis for stratified fire-risk assessment in Polish forests and supports targeted prevention and management measures. This research is conducted as part of the NCN project 2023/49/N/ST10/04035 "Fire, burnt area and charcoal - charcoal-data modeling of burnt area, cross-validation of fires and charcoal signal".

Forest and wildland fires are a natural part of ecosystems worldwide, but large fires in particular can cause societal, economic and ecological disruption. Fires are an important source of greenhouse gases and black carbon that can further amplify and accelerate climate change. In recent years, large forest fires in Sweden demonstrate that the issue should also be considered in other parts of Fennoscandia. This final report of the project “Forest fires in Fennoscandia under changing climate and forest cover (IBA ForestFires)” funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, synthesises current knowledge of the occurrence, monitoring, modelling and suppression of forest fires in Fennoscandia. The report also focuses on elaborating the role of forest fires as a source of black carbon (BC) emissions over the Arctic and discussing the importance of international collaboration in tackling forest fires. The report explains the factors regulating fire ignition, spread and intensity in Fennoscandian conditions. It highlights that the climate in Fennoscandia is characterised by large inter-annual variability, which is reflected in forest fire risk. Here, the majority of forest fires are caused by human activities such as careless handling of fire and ignitions related to forest harvesting. In addition to weather and climate, fuel characteristics in forests influence fire ignition, intensity and spread. In the report, long-term fire statistics are presented for Finland, Sweden and the Republic of Karelia. The statistics indicate that the amount of annually burnt forest has decreased in Fennoscandia. However, with the exception of recent large fires in Sweden, during the past 25 years the annually burnt area and number of fires have been fairly stable, which is mainly due to effective fire mitigation. Land surface models were used to investigate how climate change and forest management can influence forest fires in the future. The simulations were conducted using different regional climate models and greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Simulations, extending to 2100, indicate that forest fire risk is likely to increase over the coming decades. The report also highlights that globally, forest fires are a significant source of BC in the Arctic, having adverse health effects and further amplifying climate warming. However, simulations made using an atmospheric dispersion model indicate that the impact of forest fires in Fennoscandia on the environment and air quality is relatively minor and highly seasonal. Efficient forest fire mitigation requires the development of forest fire detection tools including satellites and drones, high spatial resolution modelling of fire risk and fire spreading that account for detailed terrain and weather information. Moreover, increasing the general preparedness and operational efficiency of firefighting is highly important. Forest fires are a large challenge requiring multidisciplinary research and close cooperation between the various administrative operators, e.g. rescue services, weather services, forest organisations and forest owners is required at both the national and international level.

Meaning of place is usually approached as slow social cognitive construction. However, grounded on the theory of affordances, it may also stem from direct perception-action processes, which enable the formation of immediate perceived functional, social or symbolic meaning of place (Raymond et al., 2017b). In the present study, affordances of places, which are perceived by a specific perceiver in a specific place, were mapped using a web-map survey. Each place offers opportunities for interaction, behavior, use, feeling or meaning, which is directly perceived and actualized there. This paper aims at identifying the degree of youth-friendliness of urban neighborhoods using the hypothetical intertwined model of independent mobility and actualized affordances (Kyttä, 2004) combined with place use and meaning (Broberg et al., 2013a). SoftGISchildren methodology (Broberg et al., 2013a) was adopted to carry out a cross-sectional research, involving 145 sixth to ninth graders of the Great Lisbon area. SoftGIS integrates Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS), enabling collection and place mapping of daily subjective environmental experiences in the physical environment, consequently allowing for individuals to be actively engaged in public processes of participation (Brown and Kyttä, 2014). A place based web survey called “Ideal City: a game of graphic imagination” was adopted. Participants were asked to map their home place, select and mark social, functional, leisure and emotional place transactions, and report actual and ideal mobility to these places. Findings on mobility showed that shorter distances to meaningful affordances of places promote active and independent travel; ideally, youths would like to be more frequently active and more frequently autonomous. As for meaningful places, a total of 1632 affordances were localized, with a higher number on social category. Neighborhood area (500 m around home place) was assessed as youth-friendly, where active and independent travel occurred more frequently, and social affordances were the most expressive type. Relational and affectional experience in the neighborhood places was meaningful for youth. Municipalities should consider these features when planning, designing and managing residential areas aiming for the well-being and health of young citizens; and include youths as specialists of space (spatialists) in planning participatory processes (PPGIS).

Досліджено лісові культурфітоценози Криворіжжя, які репрезентують усі основні різновиди штучних деревних насаджень регіону. Сучасний стан лісових культурфітоценозів характеризується несформованою вертикальною структурою (в більшості випадків відсутні яруси підліску та чагарників); ущільненими посадками першого та другого ярусів; невисокими значеннями запасів стовбурної деревини; ослабленим та сильно ослабленим життєвим станом деревостану.

The influence of disturbance and conservation management on the greenhouse gas budgets of China’s forests

Forest and land fires in Sungai Raya District, Kubu Raya Regency, severely impact environmental pollution and public health. This condition causes quite significant ecological and social losses. First, the smoke produced from these fires contains various dangerous substances, such as carbon monoxide, dust particles, and toxic chemicals. Continuous exposure to these substances can cause respiratory problems, respiratory tract diseases, and other health problems in local communities. Apart from that, forest fires also result in the loss of natural habitat for various species of flora and fauna. Disrupted ecosystems can cause biodiversity loss and affect local food chains. Recovery of fire-affected ecosystems takes a long time, and some species may experience local extinction due to habitat loss. Furthermore, preventing and responding to forest fires requires significant resources in terms of personnel and equipment. Funds allocated for firefighting can disrupt local government budgets that should be used for infrastructure development and community welfare programs. Therefore, forest fires harm the environment and health and impose an economic burden on the people of Sungai Raya District. Efforts to prevent forest and land fires and educate the public regarding the risks of prevention are essential to overcome these negative impacts. Sustainable measures such as law enforcement against illegal forest burning, sustainable land management, and increasing public awareness of the importance of preserving the environment can help reduce fire risks and protect public health.

For efficient forest fire management, special precautions are required in dry and strong-wind seasons vulnerable to severe forest fires. To extract the seasonal characteristics of forest fires in South Korea, the statistics over the past 16 years, 1991 through 2005, were investigated. The daily records of the number of fire occurrences, the total area burned and the average burned area per occurrence were examined to identify the seasonal patterns of forest fires using cluster analysis and principal component analysis; the risk of daily fires was also assessed using the ordered logit model. As a result, the fire patterns were classified into five clusters and a general danger index for forest fires was derived from the first principal component, showing relatively large-scaled fire regimes in spring, and frequent small-scaled fire regimes in autumn and winter. In connection with the ordered logit model, the probability for the five ranks of forest fire risk was calculated and the threshold for high-risk fires was detected. As an implementation of the results above, the proper forest fire precautionary period in South Korea was estimated, and consequently October 21 through May 17 was recognized as a dry season at a high risk of forest fires. This period began 10 days earlier in autumn and extended into midwinter (late December and January) as opposed to the existing precautionary period, indicating the need of more cautious forest fire management earlier in autumn and continuing through midwinter.

Climate influences natural processes at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Consequently, climate change raises many challenges for sustainable forest management; among them, the integration of fire and forest management is increasingly discussed. We propose here an evaluation of the adaptive capacity of forest management under changing forest fire regimes under climate change in the boreal forest of Quebec. Adaptation begins by reinterpreting current practices dealing with climatically driven variability. Among them, fire suppression, and regeneration enhancement can contribute to coping with some impacts of climate change. However, there is an increasing need to develop more integrative and spatially explicit management strategies to decrease the vulnerability of forest management to changing fire risk. Some developing management strategies, such as fuel management or the triad approach (zoning system for conservation, intensive, and extensive forest management), present an interesting potential for integrating the fire risk in management plans. While fuel management and fire suppression are indicated for particularly severe fire regimes, protection against insects, and maintaining a shorter disturbance cycle using forest management represent the preferred adaptation options where the fire cycle is lengthening under climate change. Key words: forest fire, fire risk, climate change, vulnerability, impacts, adaptation strategy, adaptation options, sustainable forest management, fire management

Impacts of climate change scenarios on European ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior L.) in Turkey

Fire is considered one of the major natural hazards that damages European forests and causes losses for forest owner. The forest fires endanger the financial stability of forest enterprises, which may cause their economic decline. One possibility how to cover these losses is to insure forest land against this kind of specific risk of forest land management. The aim of the present paper is to analyse possibilities of forest fire insurance for forest owners and enterprises in the Slovak private insurance market. The market analysis was based on document analysis of general terms and insurance conditions of chosen private insurance companies and interviews with insurance agents. The results show that forest owners and enterprises have only few options for forest property insurance concerning the specific risk of forest fires. Only one commercial insurance company provides such forest fire insurance product for forest owners. This insurance covers material damage to forest land and timber damage.

Forest fires are a significant environmental challenge, impacting ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities. Over the past decade, research on forest fire mapping and management has surged, reflecting the urgent need for effective strategies to mitigate these risks. This review examines the relation between the mapping and management of forest fires from 2013 to 2023 using a bibliometric analysis based on the PRISMA framework. The Scopus database was selected for its extensive range of publications, ensuring comprehensive coverage of relevant research. An initial search identified 927 documents, which were refined to 240 publications through specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analysis reveals a notable increase in publications since 2019, highlighting the most productive journals, authors, institutions, and countries in this field. Key findings include the identification of leading research hubs and influential contributors, as well as emerging trends and prevalent keywords. The growing number of literature underscores the critical role of mapping and managing forest fires, particularly in the context of global climate change and its exacerbating effects on fire incidence and severity. This review provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of forest fire research, emphasizing the importance of continued innovation and collaboration.

The paper presents an assessment of the forest fire risk in the South-Western region of Bulgaria, which is the most densely populated among the country’s six geographical regions. Data for the forest fires for the period of 2001-2018 in the whole country are summarized. An analysis is performed about the number of fires, the reason for their appearance and the burnt area. Тhe degree of risk for forest fires in South-Western Bulgaria is determined based on the forest areas' combustibility, the forest fires' density and the magnitude of the fire risk. It was found that the region has a moderate risk for the appearance of forest fires, except Sofia district, where the risk is high. Suggestions for forest fire management in the region are given.

Kebakaran hutan merupakan masalah yang krusial dan perlu penanganan yang sungguh-sungguh, karena kebakaran ini disamping menyebabkan terjadinya gangguan lingkungan hidup dari asap yang timbul juga berakibat hilangnya potensi hutan dan penuruanan keanekaragaman hayati. Oleh sebab itu perlu dilakukan suatu upaya pengendalian kebakaran hutan yang efektif dan efesien. Kabupaten Bengkalis merupakan salah satu kabupaten yang terdapat di Provinsi Riau. Pada kegiatan Desa Binaan yang akan dilakukan adalah pada Kecamatan Bukit Batu, hal ini dilakukan mengingat bahwa Kecamatan Bukit Batu memiliki potensi pengembangan berbagai aspek ekonomi dan sosial dan dengan kondisi gambut yang luas, hal inilah yang menarik tim pengabdian masyarakat Universitas Riau untuk melakukan Desa Binaan dikawasan tersebut. Identifikasi masalah antara lain: kelembagaan yang belum optimal dan kurang seriusnya pemerintah dan kelompok tani untuk melakukan sistem pengolahan lahan tanpa bakar dalam menanggulangi kebakaran hutan dan lahan pada kawasan gambut yang disebabkan oleh kurangnya informasi dan teknologi dan kelembagaan dalam pengolahan lahan tanpa bakar. Tujuan dari pelaksanaan kegiatan ini adalah: Meningkatkan keterampilan masyarakat di Kecamatan Bukit Batu Kabupaten Bengkalis sehingga mampu menerapkan teknik membuka lahan pertanian tanpa bakar, pengelolaan air, dan budidaya pertanian di lahan gambut, serta panen dan pasca panen. Meningkatkan keterampilan masyarakat sehingga mampu memperkuat kelembagaan, analisis usaha dan pasar, serta penumbuhan jiwa kewirausahaan. Metode pengabdian dilakukan beberapa tahap yaitu: (1) Tahap Persiapan, (2) Tahap Penyusunan Program Kerja, (3) Tahap Pelaksanaan Workshop, (4) Tahap Pelaksanaan Pendampingan, (5) Tahap Monitoring dan Evaluasi program, dan (6) Tahap Pelaporan. Dari pengabdian Desa Binaan ini diketahui bahwa: kebakaran hutan dan lahan bukan semata-mata karena faktor alam berupa kekeringan. Faktor alam menyediakan kondisi untuk terjadinya kebakaran, tetapi manusia juga memegang peranan penting. Kebakaran hutan yang disebabkan oleh manusia terjadi karena adanya aktifitas Masyarakat lokal memiliki peran kontrol yang sangat substansial dalam pengembangan desa karena kontrol terhadap proses pengambilan keputusan harus diberikan kepada mereka yang nantinya menanggung akibat pengembangan termasuk kegagalan atau dampak negatif yang terjadi akibat pengembangan Desa. Oleh karena itu, kewenangan pengambilan keputusan harus diberikan kepada masyarakat lokal. Parameter partisipasi masyarakat dalam pengawasan adalah keterlibatan dalam tim pengawasan berikut kewenangan yang dimiliki.

Forest fire has been a recurring natural phenomenon throughout the history of our earth. However, in recent time, the intensity and frequency of forest fire have increased because of natural and artificial factors. To maintain ecological balance, protecting habitat of wildlife and property of human being and their lives it is necessary to understand the causes, impacts and effective management practices of forest fire. There are multiple impacts of forest fire, affecting air quality, water resources, carbon sequestration and biodiversity etc. It disrupts the various ecological phenomenons in forest ecosystem which causes irreversible change in flora and fauna and threatening species to extinction. Additionally, particulate matter and smoke released during forest fire have extensive impact on air quality, damage respiratory system and cause cardiovascular diseases in population of both local and distant regions. Forest fire also releases considerable amount of carbon dioxide, cause climate change and accelerate global warming. Successful management of forest fire needs a holistic approach including preparedness, prevention, suppression and post fire recovery strategy. Awareness about prevention of forest fire, campaigns related to forest fire and early warning systems play significant role in reducing fire incidents. Moreover, forest thinning and controlled burning are important tools to reduce fuel loads and mitigate the risk of forest fire. Advancement in technology with time has increased the capability for firefighting by using aerial resources, remote sensing and predictive modeling. Post-fire recovery involves rehabilitating affected ecosystems, implementing reforestation programs, and monitoring ecosystem resilience and succession over time. Collaborative efforts between governments, non-governmental organizations, scientists, and local communities are indispensable for successful restoration initiatives.

trialspecies,therelativemeritsofdifferentapproachesto ensure the long-term persistence of those species remain highly contentious. Most would agree, however, that both establishing protected areas and exercising some form of restraint on extraction of forest resources are among the most effective of all viable conservation measures. Deforestation, wildfires, logging, and hunting are among the leading drivers of species losses in tropical forests, and de facto or de jure protection from these threats can be conferred by either effective enforcement of regulations or physical remoteness. Attempts to assess conservation success of protected areasatlargescaleshaverestedprimarilyonconventional use of remote sensing to quantify spatial or temporal differences in rates of change in land cover due to deforestation and wildfires, rather than on empirical demographic or community-level metrics (Gaston et al. 2008). Q2 However, the former approaches fail to detect most types of subcanopy anthropogenic disturbances that also result, directly or indirectly, in species losses (Peres et al. 2006). Moreover, the effects of habitat loss and degradation on population extirpations and declines are nonlinear, so vegetation cover alone is rarely a robust proxy for the viability of terrestrial biotas. Remotesensing data show vast tracts of apparently intact tropical forests, but in reality levels of hunting and other forms of extraction in these areas are often unsustainable (Peres & Lake 2003). Fundamental questions yet to be answered include whether ostensibly intact protected areas retain full complements of forest species and how the extent of cryptic patterns of disturbance is related to human population density in both protected and unprotected areas. I considered the global to regional emergence of sustainable-use reserves, emphasizing the world’s largest tropical forest region, Amazonia. Sustainable-use reserves often have intermediate levels of disturbance, so I examined the degree of use of natural resources by resident communities and used human population density as a proxy for level of extraction. In both protected and unprotected areas, I also estimated responses of game vertebrate assemblages to hunting on the basis of the relative biomassextractedfromasubsetoftheforestfauna.Iused analysesofcovariance(ANCOVA)toexaminetheassociationbetweenhumandensityandgamebiomassharvested across different reserve categories. Finally, I considered the long-term capacity of sustainable-use forest reserves to maintain populations of all resident species.