Prescribed fires in Puigventós
21 December 2015
Fire in forest environments does not always have negative effects. It can also become a useful instrument to prevent wildfires and even to fight them. Prescribed fires reduce hazardous fuels, protecting landscape and human communities from uncontrolled extreme fires. They can also be used to make forests and grasslands healthier, to protect natural resources and to improve habitat for threatened and endangered species.
In view of the above, the LIFE Montserrat project includes prescribed fires (Action C.1.2) in strategic areas for forest fire prevention. On that basis, the first envisaged prescribed burning was carried out on December 4 in Puigventós, one of those strategic areas identified by the Fire Department. The plan was to burn 9 hectares of scrubland but unexpected moisture of the vegetation resulting from a persistent fog during the night and first morning hours forced an important reduction of the burning area. The remaining area will be carried out during the next weeks in a date still to be programmed.
The action as a whole will create open areas within the scrubland, eliminate the aerial part of the brushes and promote the growth of herbaceous vegetation. Prescribed burning uses low-intensity fire so the effects in the organic fraction of the soil are minimal and unlike wildfires, it does not create problems related to soil erosion and soil degradation processes.
Further on, livestock activity in the area is also envisaged as a guarantee to strengthen open areas and to maintain low fuel loads, avoiding an early recovery of the scrubland that would occur if no management measures were taken after burning. The intended results consist of a less vulnerable landscape in which firefighters will have a good chance to put out future wildfires. A valuable opportunity to avoid devastating fires such as those occurred in 1986 and 1994.
- Categories:
- Conservation
- Periods:
- December
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