Wildfires: A climatologist explains what you need to know

Wildfires are unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable. Here's what you need to know.

Image 1

 Wildfires have occurred on our planet ever since terrestrial plants started appearing over 400 million years ago, in the period of Earth’s history known as the Silurian.

 

While certain regions are well known for them, such as Australia, Greece, the Amazon and the western USA, they actually take place on most areas of land around the globe. Wildfires can even occur in some of the most unexpected places, such as the Arctic Circle, where so-called ‘zombie fires’ can burn peat and permafrost under the ice, persisting throughout the cold seasons.

 

The more well-known events, such as the devastating fires in Turkey last summer, are generally associated with the fast burning of large areas of forests. These can be clearly seen as smoke plumes from a distance, and are even visible from space.

Image 2

 

Wildfires can wreak havoc on everything in their path, be it humans, animals or buildings. In some parts of the world, the loss in biodiversity can be catastrophic. But in other cases, the natural occurrence of wildfires is so ingrained that some species have evolved to work with it. For example, some plants’ seeds require exposure to fire in order to sprout.

 

What are the conditions for a wildfire to start?

 

Wildfires start when the vegetation is ignited, with drier vegetation making this process much easier. The ignition can be either human-caused (from barbecues, arson, or discarded cigarettes) or natural (from lightning strikes or volcanic eruptions, for example). A lot of fires are caused by humans, which is why many countries have laws on what months people are allowed to have a barbecue, even on their own property.

 

These things on their own are not normally enough to allow the fire to spread. The moisture accumulation over the preceding months, especially in soils, can help prevent spread. Likewise, the current humidity, or whether or not it is raining, is also critical. In some countries where wildfires spread rapidly, it is the wind that is doing the real damage – fuelling the fire with replenished oxygen, pushing the flames to adjacent vegetation, and spreading burning embers far and wide.

 

Forest fires can sometimes reach speeds of up to 11km/h, with smoke being particularly disorientating for anything in the vicinity of the fire.

Image 3

 

Is climate change the biggest factor to changes in wildfires?

 

Despite climate change leading to an increased risk of wildfires, satellite data from the 1990s onwards has actually shown that the global area burnt from wildfires has gone down. A large part of this decrease is due to forested areas being converted to farmland. It is therefore known that societal interventions are at least as important for wildfires as climate change is, but for many regions around the world, the interplay between each factor is not clear.

 

For some particularly well-studied hotspots, such as western North America, there is strong evidence that supports climate change as the dominant driver of the increases in burnt land. But for most other regions around the globe, this is not the case, and it is believed that natural climate cycles, deforestation, fire suppression and agricultural burning can play a more dominant role.

 

The human interventions here can be particularly important if the right policies are in place, and the more that climate change leads to increases in wildfires, the more we will need these societal interventions to combat that.

Image 4

 

Are fires changing due to climate change?

Given the different weather types that influence fire risk, the links with climate change are complex. For many active wildfire regions around the world, fire risk is projected to increase, mainly driven by elevated temperatures, but also from decreasing humidity. This combination is ideal for drying out vegetation, creating the perfect fuel for the fires.

 

Wildfires tend to occur in summer, where temperatures are highest, but what goes on in the earlier seasons can also be important. The amount of vegetation, or fuel, is also critical, and we expect this to increase for many parts of the world, as atmospheric carbon dioxide makes plant photosynthesis (and therefore growth) more efficient.

Image 5

 

Even today, and all else being equal, it is believed that climate change could be doubling the land that is being burned from wildfires. On around a quarter of vegetated land, the wildfire season has also increased, due to a combination of increasing droughts and raised temperatures.

 

When trees burn, they release their stored carbon into the atmosphere, and this can cause up to a third of ecosystem carbon emissions. This is a vicious negative feedback cycle, whereby climate change is causing more wildfires, which in turn leads to more climate change.

 

Source:

https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/wildfires/

 

ΦΦΦ 

The brake is over! We are back on Alert situation

 

Link:

https://cm-lousa.pt/prorrogacao-da-declaracao-da-situacao-alerta-devido-ao-risco-incendio-rural-ate-as-23h59m-21-julho-2022/

***

a brake! for the time being ...

 

keep vigilant and consult the link:

https://www.ipma.pt/en/riscoincendio/rcm.pt/index.jsp

***

Declarada Situação de Alerta - Alert Situation Declared.

 

Alert Situation Declared.

The declaration of the Alert Situation was extended due to the risk of rural fire until 23:59 on 17 July 2022 for the entire continental territory.

Link:

https://cm-lousa.pt/prorrogacao-da-declaracao-da-situacao-contingencia-17-julho-2022/

Know what agricultural work you can do by July 15

July 7, 2022

 

The Ministers of National Defence, Internal Affairs, Health, Environment and Climate Action and Agriculture and Food, in view of the weather forecasts for the coming days, which point to a significant worsening of the risk of rural fire, today, 7 July, the Declaration of the Alert Situation throughout the territory of the continent.

 

The Alert Situation covers the period between 00:00 hours on July 8th and 11:59 pm on July 15th. Burns and burning, the execution of work in forest spaces using any type of machinery and work in other rural spaces using motorizers of blades or metal discs, cross-cuts, destroyers and machines with blades or front shovels are thus prohibited.

 

The Declaration follows the elevation of the Special Alert State of the Integrated System of Protection and Relief Operations (SIOPS) to the Special Rural Fire Fighting Device (DECIR) in all districts of the continental territory, the ANEPC - National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority in a statement.

 

And explains that this Declaration "stems from the need to adopt preventive and special measures to react to the high, very high and maximum fire risk provided by the IPMA in all districts of the continent in the coming days".

 

In the context of the Declaration of Alert Situation, provided for in the Basic Law of Civil Protection, the following exceptional measures will be implemented:

Prohibition of access, circulation and permanence within forest spaces previously defined in the Municipal Plans for The Defense of the Forest Against Fires, as well as in forest paths, rural paths and other roads that cross them;

Prohibition of burning and burning of exploitation leftovers;

prohibition of carrying out work in forest spaces using any type of machinery, with the exception of those associated with rural fire fighting situations;

Prohibition of carrying out work in other rural spaces using motorizers of blades or metal discs, cross-bushes, breakers and machines with blades or front shovel

Total prohibition of the use of fireworks or other pyrotechnic devices, irradiation of combustion, as well as the suspension of authorisations which have been issued.

It's time to Party!

 

from dawn to/until dusk

ΦΦΦ

AVISO À POPULAÇÃO – PERIGO DE INCÊNDIO RURAL – MEDIDAS PREVENTIVAS NIVEL AMARELO DE ALERTA ATÉ DIA 14

 WARNING TO THE POPULATION - DANGER OF RURAL FIRE - PREVENTIVE MEASURES YELLOW ALERT LEVEL UP TO 14^th june

published on 9 June 2022

  

SITUATION

 According to the information provided by the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), it is expected that hot and dry weather is expected to continue for the coming days, expected to last until June 18, highlighting:

 − Gradual rise in temperature until the 12th, with hot weather persisting in the following days, although with some fluctuations in the maximum temperature;

 − Instability inside from tomorrow, persisting at least until the 14th. Possibility of occurrence of showers and thunderstorm. Possibility of dry thunderstorm and strong and dry wind gusts.

 − Humidity relative to decrease in the coming days with poor night recovery.

 − Wind prevailing from the north quadrant sometimes up to 40 km/h on the west coast and highlands.

 − Risk of fire at high level in alentejo and very high in the interior North and Central and South region, being of maximum level in some municipalities in the Algarve, Tagus valley and interior North and Center.

 

2. EXPECTED EFFECTS

 Increased difficulty in suppressing rural fires as a result of rising temperature and low relative humidity.

 

3. PREVENTIVE MEASURES

 The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) recalls that, in accordance with the legal provisions in force:

 − IT is FORBIDDEN to burn on days of very high or maximum fire danger. Check your city hall or 808 200 520.

 − On days of very high and maximum fire danger It is forbidden to burn clotted without authorization or without prior communication. Check your city hall or 808 200 520.

 − On very high and maximum fire hazard days it is forbidden to use fire for food storage throughout the rural area, unless used outside the critical areas and in places duly authorised for this purpose.

 − On very high and maximum fire hazard days it is forbidden to smoke or disinstill in apiaries unless the fumigators have faúlhas retention devices.

 − In the days of very high and maximum fire danger it is FORBIDDEN to launch lighted wick balloons and rockets. The use of fireworks is only permitted with the permission of the city council.

 − On very high and maximum fire hazard days it is forbidden to use motor brush cutters, cross-bushes and shredders. Avoid using disk grids.

 The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority recommends the adequacy of behaviour and attitudes towards the rural fire hazard situation, in particular with the adoption of the necessary preventive and precautionary measures, in accordance with the legislation in force, and paying particular attention to the evolution of the fire danger in this period.

 Follow the evolution of the fire danger for the coming days, available on the websites of ANEPC (www.prociv.pt), IPMA (www.ipma.pt) and ICNF (www.icnf.pt), or with the Municipal Civil Protection Services and Fire Brigades.

 

4. OPERATIONAL DETERMINATIONS

 The ANEPC has ordered the transition to the Special Alert State (EAE), yellow level, for the Special Device for Fighting Rural Fires (DECIR), between the period between 00:00 hours on the 10th and 23:59 on June 14, for all districts of the continent.

Source:

https://cm-lousa.pt/aviso-populacao-perigo-incendio-rural-medidas-preventivas-2/

 ***

Educación Forestal: Superficie quemada en España y Portugal 2000-2022

 

that´s all folks!

***

Notice 23/2022 - AIGP Serra da Lousã

Notice 23/2022 - AIGP Serra da Lousã

| Document 1 Jun 2022

https://cm-lousa.pt/autarquia/executivo-municipal/editais/

The Municipality of Lousã (CM Lousã) made public, through an Edict, that the Integrated Landscape Management Area Serra da Lousã, - AIGP Serra da Lousã, is constituted pursuant to Order No. 70109-A/2021 published in the Diário da República on July 16, 2021.

The municipality is the promoter of the Serra da Lousã AIGP.

According to the Notice the calendars are:

By September 2022, the municipality should boost all actions with the constitution of the future Management Entity.

 

until September 2023 work will take place to identify the land structure, its owners and other ownership rights holders.

 

The following is the preparation ofthe proposal for a OIGP...

 

OIGP - Integrated Operations of Landscape Management

 

A "Guide" was published on the website of the Directorate-General for the Territory on 11 April 2022:

Advisory Document for the preparation of Integrated Operations of Landscape Management (OIGP): OIGP - Reference Framework for Support to the Preparation of Proposals (27 pages).

https://www.dgterritorio.gov.pt/sites/default/files/ficheiros-artigos/Documento_Orientador_Quadro_Referencia_OIGP.pdf

 

This Reference Framework for Supporting the Preparation of Proposals has, as the name implies, all technical information, as well as the applicable legislative framework, in a logic of active collaboration of the Directorate General of the Territory with all partners involved in the implementation of Integrated Landscape Management Operations.

 

The "Guide" is intended to support the managing entities of the Integrated Landscape Management Areas (PGA) in the development of their OIGP proposals, identifying the 5 key components to be presented in the framework of an Integrated Landscape Management Operation:

 

- Design of the transformation and enhancement of the landscape, its transformation matrix, and the fundamentals that underpin the options, including the characterization of the fire regime, its causality and risk analysis, before and after future landscape proposal;

- Programming of execution, including operating model;

- Investment and financing, including sources of available support;

- Models of management of the OIGP and contractualization of the actions to be carried out with the owners;

- Program for monitoring the implementation of actions and evaluation of results;

 

THE GPA and PGOs are territorial management instruments, integrated into the Landscape Transformation Program, with an integrated approach focused on responses to landscape planning and management and increased forest area managed on a scale that promotes resilience to fires, the valorization of natural capital and the promotion of rural encomia.

 

Sources:

https://www.dgterritorio.gov.pt/Operacoes-Integradas-de-Gestao-da-Paisagem-OIGP

 

*** 

Save the bees!

 

 

"Save the bees!" — these calls to action usually come with a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live." 

Problem is, there's no evidence Einstein ever said that. And that statement also simply isn't true. If all the bees died tomorrow, we would still be able to grow food — just maybe not the sort you'd like.

Why's that?

It comes down to how different plants are pollinated. Wind-pollinated crops such as wheat, rice, and corn would continue to thrive, whereas you'd have to say goodbye to flowering crops, which includes most fruits and vegetables.

 That's because animals, so not just bees, but also hoverflies, bats, birds, beetles and more, are involved in the pollination of 90% of the world’s flowering plants.

And here comes the honeybee, right?   

When we talk about bees, we often only think of the honeybee - but there are some 20,000 other bee species around!

 

Well... honeybees do, of course, pollinate flowers. But they're not the stars of the show.

 

"The general public confounds bees with the honeybee," said Isabelle Dajoz, a pollination ecology researcher and professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. "It would be the same situation if, for example, you were talking about birds and people think that when you talk about birds, you talk about chicken, or you when you talk about mammals, people would think only of sheep."  

 

There are around 20,000 different species of bees. Yes, you read that right. Most are wild, solitary, and highly specified to certain plants, which make them much better at pollinating. Bumblebees, for example, perform buzz pollination — while holding onto the flower they, you guessed it, buzz loudly to release the pollen, something honeybees can't do. And it's not just bumblebees that are so good at their jobs.    

 

Even though we can't accurately measure the value of this wild bee pollination, crops around the world would suffer without it. Yields in the United States are already lower due to wild bee decline, and a recent study found that globally, we may have already lost a quarter of wild bee species. This also has major implications for life at higher trophic levels. 

 

 "Lots of animals depend on diverse plant communities for their food, for their nesting habitat. For example, lots of birds, lots of little mammals will eat the fruits or seeds of plants," said Dajoz. There's no telling how devastating wild bee loss is to both our food security and the stability of ecosystems.  

 

 Are honeybees in trouble? 

Honeybee colonies are definitely suffering losses due to climate change and intensive agriculture, but the idea that they are dying off is only partially correct, according to German Beekeepers Association DIB. Because they are managed by humans and receive veterinary care, they are comparatively safe.

 

What can I do if I want to help? 

 we need to stop obsessing over honeybees and turn our attention to wild ones.

 You can help provide bees with shelter and provide a safe haven for them in your backyard

 Wild bees and honeybees both love diverse habitats of native plants, so planting them in a backyard or even a balcony helps to support all bees. The larger the variety of plants, the more different types of wild bees will be able to find food. 

 Helping them find nesting ground is another option. They like to make homes in dead logs, as well as in open, sunny ground. A manicured lawn is the worst place for all bees. And opt for organic produce instead to support regenerative agriculture.

 

Source

DW Environment

https://www.dw.com/en/dying-bees-whats-the-big-deal/a-57572721

 

 

RANGE

There are over 20,000 bee species worldwide, including the honey bee, which originated in Eurasia and has been imported around the globe as a domesticated species. Wild bees species live on every continent except Antarctica. In North America there are approximately 4,000 native bee species occupying ecosystems from forests to deserts to grasslands.

 

DIET

Bees feed exclusively on sugary nectar and protein-rich pollen from flowering plants, unlike the carnivorous wasps from which they evolved.

 

BEHAVIOR

As they forage, bees perform the critical act of pollination. As a bee enters a flower to feed on nectar and gather pollen, some of the pollen sticks to the bee’s body. When the bee flies on, it deposits some of that pollen on the next flower it visits, resulting in fertilization, allowing the plant to reproduce and to generate the fruits and seeds so many other wildlife species rely on as a food source. In fact, bees pollinate a staggering 80 percent of all flowering plants, including approximately 75 percent of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables grown in the United States.

Though all female bees can sting, they only do so when threatened. Honey bees, with hives filled with honey and larvae that need protecting, are generally more aggressive and likely to sting when disturbed than solitary native bees.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Bees begin life as eggs, which hatch into larvae the feed and pupate and eventually emerge in their adult form, where they visit flowers to feed on and gather nectar and pollen.

Unlike the hive-forming domesticated honey bee or wild bumble bee species, most bees are solitary nesters. They don’t form hives, create honey, or live a communal lifestyle. Instead, they lay their eggs in a series of tiny chambers in tunnels in the ground, in hollow plant stems, or in decaying wood. Unlike hive-forming bee species, which collectively care for their young, female solitary bees provision their eggs with a ball of nectar and pollen and leave them to grow and pupate on their own with no parental care.

However, some species do not build nests at all. These “cuckoo bees" will lay their eggs in nests built by other species. Cuckoo bees will sometimes kill the host species’ larvae to ensure their own eggs will have enough food to grow to adulthood.

Queen bumble bees can live for a year and workers for a month. Solitary bees also live for about a year, with the majority of that time spent developing in their nesting chamber where they hatch, pupate, and often overwinter. Their adult lives, during which they are active, lasts approximately three to eight weeks. Females tend to live a bit longer, as they need to build a nest and lay eggs.

 

CONSERVATION

Both domesticated honeybees and many native bee species are in decline. In fact, some species, such as the once-common rusty patched bumblebee, are now listed as endangered in the U.S. Potential causes of these declines include habitat destruction, disease, agricultural and lawn and garden practices, use of pesticides, habitat fragmentation, changes in land use, invasive species, and climate change.

Pollinators, notably native bees, are critical to the survival of North America’s native plants, other wildlife, and people alike. The National Wildlife Federation (USA) maintains and supports several initiatives that support pollinators.

 

SOURCES

The National Wildlife Federation

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Bees

https://thebeeconservancy.org/why-bees/

do your part to #Savethebees

Here are some actions you can take to help preserve bees and other pollinators:

 

·         - Plant nectar-bearing flowers such as marigolds or sunflowers for decorative purposes on balconies, terraces, and gardens

·          - Buy honey and other hive products from your nearest local beekeeper

·        -  Raise awareness among children and adolescents on the importance of bees and express your support for beekeepers

·         - Set up a pollinator farm on your balcony, terrace, or garden

·         - Preserve old meadows, which feature a more diverse array of flowers, and sow nectar-bearing plants

·         - Cut grass on meadows only after the nectar-bearing plants have finished blooming

·         - Use pesticides that do not harm bees, and spray them in windless weather, either early in the morning or late at night, when bees withdraw from blossoms

 

SOURCE

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-bees-are-essential-people-and-planet

 

Thank you also to:

https://www.gov.si/en/registries/projects/world-bee-day/

 ***

The Dirty ‘Renewable’ Energy Increasingly Heating Swiss Homes

 

The Dirty ‘Renewable’ Energy Increasingly Heating Swiss Homes

A protection forest near Toffen that was logged in 2019

 LUCIE WUETHRICH

Lucie Wuethrich’s activist journey started when her neighbor came to her crying. They lived below a protection forest near Bern, the Swiss capital, yet logging created a risk of rocks crashing onto their property. Her neighbor’s driveway had already been pelted with a massive boulder.

In response, Wuethrich started investigating why trees were being cut down in a protected area. She learned that this type of logging was allowed for forest maintenance, but “what shocked me enormously was to discover that 95% of this would be burnt.”

What Wuethrich had stumbled on was a corner of the biomass energy industry, in which wood is burnt as an energy source. Many politicians love it because they typically get to mark this in their environmental balance sheets as a source of renewable energy, under the premise that the trees that are logged will get replaced with freshly planted trees. So biomass helps governments meet their carbon reduction goals, even though burning wood remains a major source of carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution.

Many foresters appreciate the industry because they get a market for their so-called low-value wood, which typically can’t be used for more profitable purposes like construction. Some maintain that forests need to be periodically thinned anyway to maintain good forest health and low fire risk, so these thinnings might as well be used to heat people’s homes.

Defenders of biomass energy also contend that the industry isn’t leading to deforestation. “For years, the forest area in Switzerland has been increasing annually despite timber harvesting,” comments Nöel Graber, a spokesperson for Axpo, the country’s largest producer of renewable energy.

 Who doesn’t praise the biomass industry? Many environmentalists. They point out that the biomass industry is so massive that it doesn’t solely use thinnings and waste wood; that trees need to remain in the ground to continue absorbing carbon; and that overall, burning wood is an inefficient and highly polluting source of energy generation that doesn’t deserve to be called renewable.

 The Bremgartenwald forest, where increasing logging has been documented recently

And in response to the biomass industry’s point that Swiss forests are actually expanding, Wuethrich, who works with environmental organizations including Biofuelwatch and the Biomass Working Group of the Environmental Paper Network, counters that the picture varies widely by region. She’s seeing shrinking forest cover locally.

As well, the quality of forest matters. Under Swiss government definitions, Wuethrich points out, “Radically thinned/logged forests still count as forest, as indeed do forestry roads and forestry installations.”

Unlike the UK, which imports most of its wood pellets from the US, Switzerland generally logs its own forests as a source of domestic heating. Its main source of renewable energy is hydropower, and the country may have limited space for solar and wind energy. It’s long been customary in Switzerland to burn wood for heat, with little awareness of the impacts on deforestation, air quality, and human health.

Within this mix, wood burning is set to expand. Demand for tiny, uniform wood pellets, and the associated prices, are climbing. According to Wuethrich, government and industry parties are looking to increase woody biomass production by 40% or even more.

In Bern “energy wood has been called the ‘Oil of Emmental’,” says Wuethrich, referring to a central region of Switzerland. She believes that a desire for energy self-sufficiency and a diversity of energy sources, coupled with the government’s 2050 target of net-zero emissions, is driving the push for biomass energy.

“The government is very pro-biomass while the general public knows very little about it,” Wuethrich believes. “It is an uphill battle here.”

 Stacks of wood destined for combustion, near Studen

 LUCIE WUETHRICH

Surprisingly, some major environmental groups in Switzerland are actually encouraging people to burn more wood. One of these is myclimate, a nonprofit that provides subsidies for heat pumps (an energy-efficient form of heating) – but also for wood pellet heating systems.

According to Kai Landwehr, the head of marketing for myclimate, “we want to change the way houses get heated as soon as possible. Hence, we need to shut down and replace fossil heating systems. It is simply not possible to install a heat pump at every location. Reasons for this are, for example, noise protection regulations or because the necessary drilling is not possible. In these cases, pellet heating offers an alternative.”

myclimate promotes only automated pellet heating systems, which it argues produce less particulate matter than older models. Yet even newer models of wood-burning stoves, designated as environmentally friendly, still produce very high levels of tiny particle pollution.

So instead of incentivizing people to burn wood, Wuethrich says, “The infinite renewables such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energies should be promoted and further subsidized instead.”

She’s frustrated by the gap between the perceptions and the realities of forestry use. “People think of Switzerland as a green and pleasant land, but we leave disproportionally large carbon footprints thanks to our lavish lifestyles,” Wuethrich believes. To counter the image of lush and pristine forests, she has been monitoring and documenting what she calls “radical logging” of carbon-storing trees that are then sent on to wood chippers.

What Wuethrich needs is for more environmentalists and policymakers to take notice of the unsustainability of biomass energy. “That is why I am still fighting for this. I never really expected this in Switzerland.”

Check out my website.

https://www.christinero.com/

Christine Ro

Source: Forbes 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinero/2022/03/16/the-dirty-renewable-energy-increasingly-heating-swiss-homes/?sh=515650df27a6

 ***