European countries are interested in new fire management policies considering the “wise use of fire” as one of the innovative approaches. In Italy, prescribed burning for wildfire prevention and conservation management is a contentious issue. The national law, L.353/2000, does not mention it but Regions are allowed to regulate prescribed burning in their fire management plans. The knowledge about prescribed burning applicability on the Italian territory is limited. We provide the background and methodology for a long-term research project on the ecological effects of prescribed burning and grazing for conservation management of moorlands located in the Managed Nature Reserve (MNR) of Vauda, north-western Italy. Rotational fire and grazing by local farmers were dominant features in moorlands management. Currently these rural practices have been abandoned and the dominant fire regime is characterized by uncontrolled fire in winter (December-March) with most sites being burnt once every 4 years. This raises a serious conservation concern: moorlands are changing to woodlands, with the risk that the biodiversity inherent to this environment will be lost. The ecological effects on vegetation of different fire regimes and grazing techniques are studied. Fire behavior is considered a critical issue. Experimental units are 1250 m2. Each unit is treated according to one of six treatments, each replicated at least four times: “Fire each 4 or 8 years with or without subsequent grazing” are treatments that approximate the predominant traditional fire regime and grazing practices of the region; “Fire each year” and “Unburnt” ones are the control treatments. All treatments have been applied for 3 years from 2005 to 2007; other 6 years are planned. Is fire suitable for conservation management of NW Italy moorlands? What does involve prescribed burning use in alpine regions? The Vauda research project has been designed to identify suitable management answers and to create a fire experiment expertise to evaluate ecological sustainability of prescribed burning for fire prevention in Italy.
The need for a prescribed burning expertise in Italy: north-western moorlands conservation management by fire
ASCOLI, Davide;MARZANO, RAFFAELLA;BEGHIN, Rachele;BOVIO, Giovanni
2007-01-01
Abstract
European countries are interested in new fire management policies considering the “wise use of fire” as one of the innovative approaches. In Italy, prescribed burning for wildfire prevention and conservation management is a contentious issue. The national law, L.353/2000, does not mention it but Regions are allowed to regulate prescribed burning in their fire management plans. The knowledge about prescribed burning applicability on the Italian territory is limited. We provide the background and methodology for a long-term research project on the ecological effects of prescribed burning and grazing for conservation management of moorlands located in the Managed Nature Reserve (MNR) of Vauda, north-western Italy. Rotational fire and grazing by local farmers were dominant features in moorlands management. Currently these rural practices have been abandoned and the dominant fire regime is characterized by uncontrolled fire in winter (December-March) with most sites being burnt once every 4 years. This raises a serious conservation concern: moorlands are changing to woodlands, with the risk that the biodiversity inherent to this environment will be lost. The ecological effects on vegetation of different fire regimes and grazing techniques are studied. Fire behavior is considered a critical issue. Experimental units are 1250 m2. Each unit is treated according to one of six treatments, each replicated at least four times: “Fire each 4 or 8 years with or without subsequent grazing” are treatments that approximate the predominant traditional fire regime and grazing practices of the region; “Fire each year” and “Unburnt” ones are the control treatments. All treatments have been applied for 3 years from 2005 to 2007; other 6 years are planned. Is fire suitable for conservation management of NW Italy moorlands? What does involve prescribed burning use in alpine regions? The Vauda research project has been designed to identify suitable management answers and to create a fire experiment expertise to evaluate ecological sustainability of prescribed burning for fire prevention in Italy.
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