3.- PROJECT METHODOLOGY

 

I. LANDSCAPE AND DISTURBANCE (FIRE) INTERACTIONS

IA. LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS AND ITS ROLE IN FIRE

Task 1. The changes in landscape structure (changes in patch size, shape, spatial arrangement of various vegetation/fuel types) in the last decades will be reconstructed by means of aerial photogra-phy and/or remote sensing in areas of dif-ferent cli-mate/vegetation/soil (from mesic to dry areas, cal-careous and siliceous) along the Mediterranean Basin (from the West to the Center and East) and with different fire incidence. In the various study areas chosen, all fires above a certain size (depending on the source of information, photography or satellite) will be mapped. The impact of land use changes and of fire itself on the structure of the landscape will be analyzed.

Task 2. Assess the change in sensitivity to fire of pilot areas through the years based on landscape structure, as reconstructed from the previous task, fire behavior models, sensitivity of fuel to weather and sets of fire weather conditions. Simulate future landscapes resulting from land use changes and fire occurrence.

Task 3. Fire conditions and landscape structure will be reconstructed from the area affected by the fire from a  number of well documented fires (small to large) selected in vari-ous study areas. The relationship between area burned, fire conditions and landscape structure will be determined based on such conditions and landscape reconstruction.

Task 4. Large fires, which have been burning during several days, will be selected in specific areas. The course of the fire during the day and night (or during contrasted periods for fire weather condi-tions) will be reconstructed. A comparison of the areas affected during the most severe conditions and the less severe ones will made.
 

IB. ROLE OF FIRE IN CREATING HETEROGENEITY WITHIN A BURN

Task 5. A number of well documented fires (small to large) will be selected in vari-ous study areas. Conditions and landscape features at the time of fire will be reconstructed. After the fire, landscape structure will be monitored at various times by remote sensing. The relationship between the condi-tions at the time of fire and the change in landscape features (perimeter to area ratios, fractal dimen-sion, dominance, etc.) within the burned area will be determined. In the ground, assess the role of fire intensity on vegetation dynamics.

Task 6. A number of large fires will be selected in varied climate and soil environments, with patches differing in their recent land use his-tory, and/or fire history, and/or time of abandonment, with various seeder/resprouter ratios, etc. Species composition and abundance (plants, animals) dy-namics after fire will be measured in the various patches to determine convergence patterns.
 
 

II. LANDSCAPE, FIRE AND FLOWS (WATER, NUTRIENTS, SOIL)

Task 7. Select burned catchments with a variety of patches. Determine impact of fire on flows (soil, water and nutrients) at the catchment and patch level in comparison with unburned catch-ment/patches.

Task 8. Measure spatial variability of soil physico-chemical parameters and its dynamics with time after fire in various types of patches across a watershed. Similarly, determine the spatial pattern of vegetation recovery within patches across the watershed, soil and plant water status.
 
 

III. LANDSCAPE, FIRE AND SPECIES DYNAMICS (SPECIES DISPERSAL AND          INTERACTIONS)

Task 9. A number of fires of varied size and with a variety of burned places within the burned area will be selected along a cli-mate/soil gradient. The dynamics of selected plant and animal species will be measured in the various patches within the burned area and/or in the burned area from the edge to the center. Predation will be measured in a similar way. Determine the relationship between patch size (fire size, various areas within a burn) and species dynamics.

Task 10. A number of fires of varied size and with a variety of patches differing in fire intensity will be selected along a climate/soil gradient. Species turnover in regard to prefire conditions (unburned control plots) will be determined.

Task 11. A number of fires of varied size and with a variety of patches will be selected along a cli-mate/soil gradient. The dy-namics of selected rare and endemic plant species will be measured in compari-son with more cosmopolitan species.

Task 12. Determine the fire ecology of rare/endemic plant species in relation to more cosmopolitan species: sensitivity to fire and/or dispersal capacity and/or sensitivity to postfire environments.

Task 13. Modeling species dynamics in relation to landscape structure and other characteristics of the fire regime.
 

Index
Summary
Objectives
Participants
Project scheme