Best Practices of Fire Use Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire Programmes in Selected Case-Study Regions in Europe Cristina Montiel Daniel Kraus (editors) Best Practices of Fire Use – Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire Programmes in Selected Case-Study Regions in Europe Cristina Montiel and Daniel Kraus (editors) European Forest Institute Research Report 24, 2010 Scientific Advisory Board of the European Forest Institute 2009–2010 Prof. Dr. Bas Arts, the Netherlands Prof. Kristina Blennow, Sweden Prof. Americo Carvalho Mendes, Portugal Dr. Emil Cienciala, Czech Republic Prof. Dr. Carlos Gracia, Spain Prof. Dr. Hubert Hasenauer, Austria, Chairman of the SAB Prof. Michael Köhl, Germany Prof. Marco Marchetti, Italy Prof. Leena Paavilainen, Finland Prof. Jean-Luc Peyron, France Editorial Office Prof. Dr Hubert Hasenauer, Editor-in-Chief Ms Minna Korhonen, Managing Editor Contact: [email protected] European Forest Institute Torikatu 34, 80100 Joensuu, Finland www.efi.int Cover photo: Mons Kvamme, Heathland Centre, Lygra, Norway Layout: Kopijyvä Oy Printed at WS Bookwell Oy, Porvoo, Finland Disclaimer: This report was prepared for the project Fire Paradox under EU Sixth Framework Programme (contract no. FP6-018505). The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Forest Institute. © European Forest Institute 2010 ISSN: 1238-8785 ISBN: 978-952-5453-69-0 (printed) 978-952-5453-70-6 (online) Table of Contents Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................v Executive summary ...............................................................................................vii 1. Background Information on Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire 1.1 Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire Techniques: from Fuel to Landscape Management ..............................................................................3 1.2 Development of Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire in Europe ...... 17 2. Identifying Good Practices and Programme Examples for Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire ..........................................................................35 3. Good Practices and Programme Examples 3.1 Prescribed Burning for Nature Conservation in Västernorrland, Sweden .... 47 3.2 Fire Use Practices for Habitat and Wildlife Management in Scotland and the UK with a Case Study from Glen Tanar Estate ............................ 61 3.3 The Use of Prescribed Fire for Maintaining Open Calluna Heathlands in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany .................................... 77 3.4 The French Prescribed Burning Network and its Professional Team in Pyrénées Orientales: Lessons Drawn from 20 Years of Experience .................................................................................................89 3.5 Prescribed Burning for Improved Grazing and Social Fire Prevention: the Spanish EPRIF Programme ............................................ 107 3.6 The Portuguese National Programme on Suppression Fire: GAUF Team Actions ...............................................................................123 3.7 The Catalonian Programme on Fire Management: GRAF Team Actions ... 137 4. Potential Barriers and Factors for Success ..................................................... 155 5. Lessons Learned and the Way Ahead ............................................................. 165 Acknowledgments This book is the result of four years’ research carried out within the frame of the Fire Paradox project funded by the European Commission Research and Development 6th Framework Programme. The overall objective of Fire Paradox was the creation of the scientific and technical basis for new approaches towards Integrated Fire Management practices and policies in Europe. We are grateful to the European Union’s DG Research for its financial support which ultimately made this publication possible. The editors would like to thank all the authors who took up the challenge to contribute to this publication. In particular, we express our gratitude to the fire and land managers external to the Fire Paradox project for their enthusiasm and willingness to collaborate with us. We are also grateful to the members of the Fire Paradox consortium for their participation in this book – especially to the participants of the workshop on the assessment of policies and practices related to fire use (held 21–22 October 2008 in Chefchaouen, Morocco) – for their ideas and suggestions for this publication. In particular, we would like to thank Dr. Francisco Rego, general coordinator of the Fire Paradox project, and Dr. Armando González-Cabán, member of the International Advisory Committee for their invaluable recommendations regarding the structure and content of this research report. Furthermore, the editors would like to commemorate Pau Costa as an adept participant in the workshop in Chefchaouen and a valued contributor to this publication in its early stages. The editors appreciate the kind contributions and invaluable comments of Dr. Yves Birot and Dr. Kevin Ryan during the review process. Finally, we would like to thank the European Forest Institute and the Chair of EFI’s Scientific Advisory Board, Prof. Dr. Hubert Hasenauer for accepting this publication as an EFI Research Report. We are especially grateful to the EFI team of Andreas Schuck, Minna Korhonen and Maria Jalavisto, as well as to Howard McKee for their assistance during the editing process. Executive summary Prescribed burning is increasingly being recognized and incorporated as a management practice in forest and other land management policies, especially in those countries which were pioneering its introduction in Europe. In this context, prescribed fire appears to be a potential management technique to attain different objectives such as silvicultural improvement, control of insects and diseases, habitat management and biodiversity conservation. Further, it has been demonstrated in the field of fire management that the use of fire is an efficient tool for the reduction of hazardous fuels and as an indirect attack during wildfire suppression (suppression fire). In most European countries, however, there are still important constrains and negative attitudes towards the use of fire that need to be overcome. In the frame of the Fire Paradox project “An innovative approach for integrated wildland fire management. Regulating the wildfire problem by the wise use of fire: solving the fire paradox” (2006–2010), which aims to create the scientific and technological bases for new practices and policies for integrated wildland fire management, the assessment of prescribed burning and suppression fire practices has been undertaken by both the research and development domains, in order to identify opportunities as well as promote the future development of strategies for its implementation in Europe. Within this context, this publication aims to provide policy makers, policy implementers and the general public with background information and analysis for the successful implementation of prescribed burning and suppression fire practices in European countries. By analysing successful case studies, it seeks to understand the factors that influence the success of prescribed burning and suppression fire and to facilitate application in other countries. For this purpose the book is structured in three sections. The first section provides background information for those not familiar with the practice of fire use for management objectives. It includes general and basic notions on prescribed burning and suppression fire, as well as an overview of the spatial and temporal development of both practices in Europe. It also provides the main criteria considered for the identification of good examples. The second section constitutes the core of the book, which consists of a selection of good practices and best programmes that present, in some cases, long-term examples for the most representative objectives for fire use as a management practice in Europe, namely nature conservation in protected areas, the management of habitats for hunting, landscape management, fire use in fuel reduction and during fire fighting (suppression fire). The authors of the case studies are managers responsible for the creation and implementation of the practice or programme of the Fire Paradox consortium as well as external professionals. The reason for this choice is related to the character of the book, which serves to disseminate good practices, and therefore needs the adoption of a more practical approach to be better understood by end-users. The book concludes with an analysis of potential barriers and factors for success for the development of prescribed burning and suppression fire, as well as a discussion on the lessons learned and the way ahead. 1. Background Information on Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire 1.1 Prescribed Burning and Suppression Fire Techniques: from Fuel to Landscape Management Marc Castellnou1,3, Daniel Kraus2,3 and Marta Miralles1 1UT GRAF / Catalonian Fire Service, Head Office of Fire Prevention and Suppression and Rescue Services, Catalonia, Spain 2Working on Fire (WoF) Int., Freiburg, Germany 3Pau Costa Foundation on Fire Ecology and Management, Tivissa, Spain 1.1.1 Have we forgotten how to use fire? Throughout Europe, ancestral fire use techniques evolved under conditions that well suited the needs of each land management