EU3 - Forest fires

Step: Initial knowledge
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case: EU3 location: Europe sectors: Forestry interactive maps

General description

Forest fires are one of the main disturbances affecting carbon sequestration of European forests and also leading to loss of life. Although it is generally recognized that the occurrence of forest fires in Europe is due mainly to causes of an anthropogenic nature, year to year fire risk is also linked to weather conditions.

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The projected decrease in summer precipitation in southern Europe and the increase in the frequency of summer droughts will probably induce greater risks of forest fires, ultimately resulting in strong impacts on natural resources and ecosystem stability, with consequent direct and indirect economic losses. Active forest and fire management practices can counteract the impacts of a changing climate to some extent.


Figure 1 - Map of carbon losses related to forest fires in Europe for June-August 2002 and 2003. Maps were obtained using the Community Land Model (CLM) 4.0. Website: http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/tss/clm/

Initial knowledge

  • European forests act as sinks for carbon dioxide.
  • Forests are very vulnerable to changes in temperature, precipitation and extreme weather events which can have destructive impacts and reduce the carbon sequestration potential of the forest.
  • Forest fires are one of the main disturbances affecting carbon sequestration of European forests.
  • Forest fires ignition in EU is due mainly to anthropogenic causes but total burned area changes significantly from year to year largely because of weather conditions.
  • In some areas (e.g. Mediterranean ecosystems) fire is essential for maintaining biodiversity and oppressing all fires can result in excessively large fires once there is a fire outbreak.
  • The projected decrease in summer precipitation in southern Europe and the increase in the frequency of summer droughts will probably induce greater risks of forest fires (IPCC, 2007a).
  • Changes in fire regimes may have strong impacts on natural resources and ecosystem stability, with consequent direct and indirect economic losses.