Prescribed burning practice and research in Italy

1. Prescribed burning practice and research in Italy
2 February 2017
Barcelona, Spain
Berretti, Bovio
Cotterchio
Rizzolo, Valese
Certini, Foderi, Marchi
Hermanin, Bertani, Bacci
Calvani, Cammarata, Magnani,
Montorselli, Pettenuzzo,
Palermo, Scopetani, Tonarelli
Massaiu
Barbati
Bajocco
Battipaglia, De Luca
Esposito
Garfì
Marchetti
Ascoli
Lovreglio
Arca, Bacciu
Pellizzaro, Salis
Sirca, Spano
Delogu
Basile, Elia
Lafortezza,
Mairota
Iovino
Marziliano
Fire Management
Working Group
Vacchiano
La Mantia
La Mela Veca
Macrelli
Fiorucci

2. PT SP
FR
IT
In Italy wildfires are one
the most important
natural hazards
112000 ha/year
Prescribed burning in Italy: why?
0
500
1000
Burntarea103ha
Spain
Portugal
France
Italy
Data: EFFIS

3. Burnt area
2004-2015
Source: CFS
Many territories
with a high fire
incidence
Why?
Wildfire due to rural fire uses
…mostly not regulated
0
150
300
BA103ha
Italy
24% Rural fire uses
Regulate rural fire uses
by prescribed burning
Ribet N

4. 0
150
300
BA103ha
Italy
Many territories
with a high fire
incidence
Why?
Periodical large fires with
predictable spread patterns
Prescribed burninng to
maintain strategic fuel breaks
1960
1971
19741979
1983
1991
2003
2011
24% Rural fire uses

5. Why?
Professional
forest fire-fighters
of Regional Services
Volounteers
fire-brigades
Civil protection
State Forestry Corp
State civil fire-brigades
Prescribed burninng to
train fire operators

6. Why?
Land cover change
1960-1990
Change
Larch
woodlands
Calluna
heathlands
Festuco-brom.
Orchids
Crop-Open habitat
Forest-shrubland
Prescribed burninng
to maintain
open habitats

7. 1980
2016
Fire Plans Nat. Parks
Guidelines, Abruzzo-Lazio-Molise,
Appennino Lucano - Val d’Agri - Lagonegrese,
Cilento e Vallo di Diano, Gargano,
Pollino, Sila, Maddalena
Abruzzo, Calabria
Campania, Lazio, Liguria,
Lombardia, Toscana, Sardegna,
Sicilia, Piemonte, Puglia, V. d’Aosta
Regional
Fire Plans
Regional regulation on prescribed burning
Prescribed burning in Italy: where?
Liguria: LR 22/1984
Toscana: Reg. LR 39/2000
Lazio: LR 39/2002
Lombardia: Reg. LR 27/2004
Basilicata: LR 13/2005
Piemonte: LR 21/2013
Abruzzo: LR 4/2014
Campania: LR 20/2016
Regional Laws

8. Bovio G., Ascoli D. (2012). Fuoco prescritto: stato dell’arte della normativa in Italia. Italia Forestale e Montana 67(4): 347-358
PB objectives Regulation contents
Percentageofdocuments(%)
Regional regulation: analysis of 32 documents
Where?

9. 

 



Where?

10. - Participatory programs to solve conflicts
between foresters and sheperds
- Prevention of unplanned wildfire and
amelioration of forage quality
- Exchange of knowledge on the use of fire
among shepherds, fire-fighters, managers
Campania
… for grazing management
Ribet N. – modificata
Friuli VG
Sardegna Liguria
Where?
Ribet N

11. Piemonte
Campania
… for fuel management in strategic fuelbreaks
Sardegna
Salis M
Toscana
Where?

12. Calabria
Pinus halepensis
Delogu G
Toscana
Pinus nigra
Tonarelli L
Toscana
Pinus pinaster
Sardegna
Pinus pinea
… for understory burning to increase forest resistance
Where?
Bacci D

13. Piemonte
Castanea sativa
De Giovanni A
Campania
Quercus cerris
Sardegna
Eucaliptus sp.
Piemonte
Larix decidua
… for understory burning to increase forest resistance
Where?

14. Prescribed burning in Italy: how?
Wildfire
1980-2015
Fuelbreaks
27 km – 53ha
Prescribed burning plan: Tuscany
20-30 m
40 m20 m

15. Understory burning in strategic fuelbreaks
How?

16. 




Training…
How?
 

17. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Numberofdocuments
Conferences
Papers
MS-PhD Thesis
Studies along years
100
50
0
CumulativeN.ofdocuments
How?

18. Studies: tree control for heathland conservation
How?

19. Prescribed burning
Prescribed browsing
Studies: tree control for heathland conservation
How?

20. 4) Prescribed burning 1time
+ Yearly broswing +
4 treatments applied for 5 years
3) Prescribed burning 1time
1) Frequent fire
+
2) Yearly broswing
+
Studies: tree control for heathland conservation
How?

21. - Prescribed burning causes
tree stem mortality, browsing
controls root suckering
- The heath is resilient to fire,
it is not browsed, and recovers
the habitat structure
Treatments effect by year
Yearly browsing
Frequent fire
Burning 1 time
Burning + Browsing
Years
PRE
+5
+1
+3
Treatments
Ascoli et al. (2013) Forest Ecology Management 289
Treeencroachment
Heath recovering
Studies: tree control for heathland conservation
How?

22. Fire Risk
Studies: effects in Mediterranean conifers
How?

23. 100 m
Prescribed burning
Control
Studies: effects in Mediterranean conifers
How?

24. + 2 years
Prescribed burning
Ascoli D, Bovio G, Esposito A, Seneca U, Rutigliano FA, Catalanotti AE, Strumia S, Salgueiro A, Palheiro P, Rebelo A, Mazzoleni S, Fernandes P (2010).
Using PiroPinus to assess fuel reduction effectiveness of prescribed burning in a Pinus halepensis plantation in Southern Italy.
In “Proceedings of the VI International Conference on Forest Fire Research. Coimbra, Portugal, 15-18 Nov. 2010”.
Control
Fuel
Fuelstrata(m)
Studies: effects in Mediterranean conifers
Grasses – forbs
Litter
Dead wood
Live fuels
Dead fuels
Dead wood
Litter
5764 kW/m
PiroPinus
97th scenario
How?
Ampelodesmos
Erica
Ampelodesmos
Erica

25. PRE
Prescribed burning
Ascoli D, Bovio G, Esposito A, Seneca U, Rutigliano FA, Catalanotti AE, Strumia S, Salgueiro A, Palheiro P, Rebelo A, Mazzoleni S, Fernandes P (2010).
Using PiroPinus to assess fuel reduction effectiveness of prescribed burning in a Pinus halepensis plantation in Southern Italy.
In “Proceedings of the VI International Conference on Forest Fire Research. Coimbra, Portugal, 15-18 Nov. 2010”.
Fuel
Studies: effects in Mediterranean conifers
Fuelstrata(m)
Grasses - forbs
Litter
Dead wood
Fuel consumption
Crown mortality
Dead wood
Litter
665 kW/m
PiroPinus
97th scenario
How?

26. Battipaglia et al. (2014).
The effects of prescribed burning on Pinus halepensis Mill. as revealed by dendrochronological and isotopic analyses
Forest Ecology and Management 334: 201-208.
StemGrowingindex
Dendro study Burning
Prescribed burningControl
How?

27. Fuoco prescritto Italia
Information to the public…
How?

28. 0
20
40
60
80
100
PresenceonGoogle(%)*
Information: the word "Fuoco prescritto" in Internet
*% of web-pages dealing with "Fuoco prescritto" on first 10 pages of Google
How?

29. N. 25 videos
producted in Italy
5534 visits (3 yrs)
81% in Italy
Information: "Fuoco prescritto" on the media
How?

30. Limitation to PB in Italy
- Lack of regulation
- Risk adverse policies
- Poor training level
- Environmental concerns
- Few ecological knowledge
…however!
Ascoli D, Bovio G, (2013)
Prescribed burning in Italy: issues, advances and challenges.
iForest 6: 79-89
Prescribed burning in Italy ... is it worth the trouble?
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How … about the future?
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31. Thanks for the attention
2 February 2017
Barcelona, Spain
Fire Management
Working Group
Berretti, Bovio
Cotterchio
Rizzolo, Valese
Certini, Foderi, Marchi
Hermanin, Bertani
Magnani, Montorselli
Pettenuzzo, Scopetani, TonarelliMassaiu
Barbati
Bajocco
Battipaglia, De Luca
Esposito
Garfì
Marchetti
Ascoli
Lovreglio
Arca, Bacciu
Pellizzaro, Salis
Sirca, Spano
Delogu
Basile, Elia
Lafortezza,
Mairota
Iovino
Marziliano
Vacchiano
La Mantia
La Mela Veca
Macrelli
Fiorucci