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1. Definition
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Name
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WILD
FIRE INCIDENCE
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Brief
definition
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The
percentage of total burned surface vs. the total territorial
land surface per year (typically at municipality level).
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Unit
of measure
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%
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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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To
define fire damage on rural areas and the loss of
forested and non forested surface induced by fire
on desertification prone territories.
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Importance
with respect to desertification
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Degradation
of territory is due to different natural factors.
Among negative forces active on a territory, the loss
of forested areas and the transformation of forest
ecosystems into agricultural ecosystems caused by
fire are a big concern. The destruction of the natural
grass and woody vegetation cover by fire in dry lands
affects the topsoil temperature and air humidity,
thus influencing the movements of atmospheric masses
and rainfall. In addition, fire enhances erosion.
Forest fires are a key factor of land degradation
because they reduce forest resources, change soil
properties and climate condition, and finally induce
a rapid desertification process .
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International
Conventions and agreements
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The
UNCCD recognises the particular conditions of the
Mediterranean. Causes of the desertification process
include 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
|
This
indicator is an important indicator for decision-
makers. It can help in addressing political measures
to recognise high fire risk areas and to organise
an efficient fire fighting system to reduce the fire
problem and indirectly the desertification process
of the territory.
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4.
Methodological description and basic definitions
|
Definitions
and basic concepts
|
The
percentage of total area (forested + non forested)
burned per year. Surface encompasses forested and
non forested areas.
|
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Benchmarks
Indication of the values/ranges of value
|
class
I - score 1: < 1.75% of total burned surface/total
territorial surface per year = low incidence
class
II - score 1.33: 1.76- 3,50 % of total burned surface/total
territorial surface per year = moderate incidence
class
III - score 1.66: 3,51- 4,5 % of total burned surface/total
territorial surface per year = high incidence
class
IV - score 2: > 4,51 % of total burned surface/total
territorial surface per year = extreme incidence
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Methods
of measurement
|
Ratio
between total burned surface and the total territorial
surface.
|
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Limits
of the indicator
|
One
limit of the indicator is the difficulty to find statistical
data on fires and homogeneous data on burned surfaces
for different European countries, at a municipality
level.
|
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Linkages
with other indicators
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Burned area; Fire
frequency, Fire Risk
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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 surface; total territorial surface
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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, Italy
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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.
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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Other
references
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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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