Forest fires in the district of Guarda. Triggering factors and environmental consequences

Abstract

Portugal has been fustigated, throughout the last decades, by numerous forest fires. The area burned has increased considerably and the country of Southern Mediterranean Europe with the highest percentage of area burned. By examining the geographic distribution of burned areas, in terms of the NUT II, we find that the Central Region of Portugal has been the most plagued. Down to a scale of more detail, we observe that the district of Guarda is the territory most affected by the flames, which is why this study are focusing in this space. The aim is, therefore, to make a diachronic analysis of the manifestation of the dendrocaustological risk in the study area, in the period between hydrological years 1980/81 and 2009/10, aiming to understand how it was the combination of the factors triggering. On the other hand, after the occurrence of forest fires, there are changes in land use, so another of the objectives, is the establishment of forms of landscape evolution. Thus, the present study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the various actions that interfere with the forest fire risk, as well as, whether to examine the new landscape that gradually gaining ground after the passage of forest fires.