Re-ignitions and soil importance on wildfire risk and management research proposals in a Mediterranean ecosystem

This study was conducted following the fires that took place in Rocallaura (Spain) between 23/06/2016 and 19/07/2017. The aim is to analyse the importance of soil on forest planning and management mechanisms to mitigate the impacts of forest fire re-ignitions on risk and management framework. The main factors found to influence the occurrence of re-ignitions in a forest ecosystem dominated by Pinus halepensis were weather conditions, possible future climatic changes, soil and subsoil biomass amount and the physico-chemical properties of the organic layer. The re-ignition dynamics were included in the study as a new parameter—fire persistence—to be considered in fire regimes. It is proposed that fire persistence should be included in strategic framework for integrating wildfire risk in forest planning. This will entail identifying and including the potential for re-ignition in fire risk maps and fire suppression policies and implementing forest management actions in areas vulnerable to re-ignition.