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1. Definition
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Name
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BURNED AREA
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Brief definition
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Average area burned per decade on a defined territorial
surface
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Unit of measure
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hectares
of total burned surface per km²
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Spatial scale
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Temporal scale
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2. Position within the
logical framework DPSIR
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Type of Indicator
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Driving Force/State
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3. Target and political
pertinence
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Objective
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The indicator contributes to a definition of the average
loss of forested and non forested surfaces induced
by fire in desertification prone territories during
a long period (10 years).
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Importance with respect to desertification
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Wildfires have a destructive impact on forest vegetation
and fauna; they damage the soil, enhance erosion,
and pollute the atmosphere with combustion products.
Wildfires remove the plant cover and litter layer,
which play a major role in the prevention of soil
erosion caused by raindrop impact and overland flow.
Thus, the risk of soil degradation is very high immediately
after a fire and decreases with time as the plant
cover regenerates (Wells, 1981). Fire can also increase
soil vulnerability to erosion processes by altering
soil physical and chemical properties (Soto et al.,
1991; DeBano et al., 1998). Significant losses of
forest vegetation and woody biomass result in long-term
impacts to the environment. Comprehensive global statistics
on wildfires required to make a reliable comparison
of global occurrence during different years do not
exist. In fact, millions of hectares of woodlands,
as well as some forests, burn unreported each year.
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International Conventions and agreements
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The UNCCD recognises the particular conditions of
the Mediterranean affecting desertification processes
and the extensive forest coverage losses due to frequent
wildfires (Convention text as of September 1994 and
as of September 2001).
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Secondary objectives of the indicator
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This indicator represents fire impact on land and
the average damage on forest and rural ecosystems.
Information about the extent of damage can help in
addressing political measures to recognise the highest
fire risk areas and to organise an efficient fire
fighting system. Reducing the fire problem indirectly
reduces the desertification process.
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4. Methodological description
and basic definitions
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Definitions and basic concepts
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Average area burned per decade evaluated through the
annual data of forested and non-forested areas burned
by wildfire, at municipality level at least.
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Benchmarks Indication of the values/ranges of value
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- class I -
score 1: <10 ha of total burned surface per decade
on 10 Km² of territorial surface = low
incidence
- class II -
score 1.33: 10 - 25 ha of total burned surface per
decade on 10 Km² of territorial surface
= moderate incidence
- class III
- score 1.66: 26 -50 ha of total burned surface
per decade on 10 Km² of territorial surface
= high incidence
- class IV -
score 2: >50 ha of total burned surface per decade
on 10 Km² of territorial surface = extreme
incidence
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Methods of measurement
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Mathematical mean of forested and non forested burned
surfaces in a defined territory over a period of 10
years.
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Limits of the indicator
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The limit of the indicator is the difficulty in finding
statistical fire data and homogeneous data on burned
surfaces for different European countries, at a municipality
level. The greatest limit is related to obtaining
municipality total land surface, to which the indicator
should be related as a percentage
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Linkages with other indicators
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Fire frequency, Fire
risk, Wild fire
incidence
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5. Evaluation of data
needs and availability
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Data required to calculate the indicator
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Total burned surfaces (forested and non forested land)
per decade
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Data sources
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National Forest Fire Statistics
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Availability
of data from national and international sources
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Data on historic
fire regimes can be provided by the Eurostat and National
Statistic Organizations
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6. Institutions that
have participated in developing the indicator
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Main institutions responsible
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University of Basilicata
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Other contributing organizations
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7. Additional information
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Bibliography
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Vélez R., 2000 - La defensa contra incendios forestales.
Fundamentos y experiencias. McGrawHill/Interamerica
de España, S.A:U.
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Other references
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Nardiello D., 1998 - Attività di prevenzione contro
gli incendi boschivi e cartografia di rischio: applicazione
alla Val d'Agri dell'analisi territoriale multidisciplinare
(Sistema A.F.S). Degree Thesis, University of Basilicata,
Academic Year 1997-98
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Contacts Name and address
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Prof. Agostino Ferrara
University of Basilicata
Polo Universitario di Macchia Romana
85100 Potenza, Italy
e-mail: ferrara@unibas.it
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