Once again this summer, France has been hit by wildfires of an exceptional scale, with blazes burning, in particular, several tens of thousands of hectares in various parts of the Landes de Gascogne forest. This news serves as yet another reminder of the urgent need to better understand and anticipate this risk — an issue on which scientists are fully committed.
Since the 1990s, the index measuring the meteorological risk of wildfires has risen by around 20 per cent in France — half of which is attributable to human-induced climate change. The projections are clear: by the end of the century, the number of major fires (>100 hectares) could triple in south-eastern France, and the fire season could be extended by several weeks.
In light of this, public authorities need up-to-date knowledge to adapt their fire risk prevention and management strategies. This is the very purpose of the VULNEFEU project (AFORCE programme), led by researchers from INRAE (URFM, LESSEM, ETTIS), the ONF and the Forest Health Department, in support of public policies on forest management.
In particular, the project has produced:
- An analysis of fire behaviour and its contributing factors: weather, topography and fuel
- A review of current knowledge on the response of tree species to fire
- Preventive silvicultural strategies: balancing increased fuel reduction with the inherent resilience of stands
- ‘Tree species fact sheets’ which assign each forest species a rating for flammability, fire resistance and fire resilience – a practical reference tool for forest managers
A useful study, yet one that is also clear-sighted about its limitations: current knowledge remains focused on Mediterranean tree species, whilst the risk of wildfires is spreading to temperate species about which far less is known.
