1.2 Detalhes do contato das pessoas capacitadas e instituições envolvidas na avaliação e documentação da tecnologia

Nome do projeto que facilitou a documentação/avaliação da Tecnologia (se relevante)

Catastrophic shifts in drylands (EU-CASCADE)

Nome da(s) instituição(ões) que facilitou(ram) a documentação/ avaliação da Tecnologia (se relevante)

Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterraneo (CEAM) - Espanha

1.3 Condições em relação ao uso da informação documentada através de WOCAT

O compilador e a(s) pessoa(s) capacitada(s) aceitam as condições relativas ao uso de dados documentados através do WOCAT:

Sim

1.4 Declaração de sustentabilidade da tecnologia descrita

A tecnologia descrita aqui é problemática em relação a degradação da terra de forma que não pode ser declarada uma tecnologia de gestão sustentável de terra?

Não

2.1 Descrição curta da tecnologia

Definição da tecnologia:

The combination of clearing of fire-prone seeder species and planting of more fire resistant resprouter species directs the vegetation to later successional stages which increases the resilience to fires.

2.2 Descrição detalhada da tecnologia

Descrição:

The forests and shrublands in Ayora experienced a series of disturbances in the past (such as deforestation and land use), which resulted in the degradation of the vegetation and the reduction of the resilience to fires. At present, there is a high fire incidence. Post-fire landscapes regenerated with a high and continuous fuel accumulation with few native resprouter species. Therefore appropriate vegetation management is crucial.
For management the major goals are to reduce the fuel load and its continuity and to increase the resilience of the vegetation to fires. Within this experiment carried out by CEAM (Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo, University of Valencia) different fuel management techniques were examined. They selected three study sites (Morera, Roñoso, Gachas) with a similar history of land use, vegetation composition, soil characteristics, and a typical post-fire scenario whith scarce occurrence of resprouter species. In each site, four plots were established to test the effect of the following management techniques: 1) control (no action), 2) clearing, 3) planting (within the shrubland) and 4) the combination of clearing and planting.

The main purpose of this experiment was to find out which management technique is the most appropriate to prevent fires and it was shown that the combination of selective clearing of fire-prone shrubs (fuel control) and planting of more resistant resprouter species can increase the resilience to fires and is therefore a suitable management practice. Compared to the other management techniques, there are some advantages. Clearing the vegetation (either by hand or mechanically) reduces the fire risk and enhances seedling establishment and growth. Furthermore, the cleared vegetation is chipped and applied in-situ as mulch, which protects the soil from erosion, reduces soil temperature and moisture loss, and enhances carbon conservation. Additionnally, selective clearing allows to preserve desired species and by planting resprouter species the natural processes can be accelerated. Once established, resprouter species persist for a long time which promotes an increase of the vegetation resilience.
In this documentation, only the combination of clearing and planting is evaluated since this action is considered as the most appropriate management practice.

In each study site, the experimental area covered about 5000m2 (3 plots of 1000m2 each, one plot of 2000m2). To test the effect of the combination of clearing and planting, a clearing machine was used to clear a plot of 1000 m2 in all three sites. The few resprouting individuals such as Juniperus oxycedrus and Quercus ilex and also some seeder trees such as Pinus halepensis and Pinus pinaster were left standing. The planting holes (0.35 m2) were created with a tractor using a backhoe. The slash and brush chips generated by the clearing were reused in the planting holes as mulch which resulted in ecological benefits.
In February 2003, native resprouters of late successional stages with a low amount of dead fuel were planted, such as Quercus ilex, Rhamnus alaternus and Pistacia lentiscus, all protected by a plastic tree shelter to prevent browsing.
The seedlings were grown for 8 months in a nursery in Santa Faz (Alicante) and then transferred to a nursery in La Hunde (Ayora) one month before planting. The Regional Forest Services of Valencia provided seeds as well.

The region of Ayora is mountainous with a dry subhumid climate (~380 mm annual rainfall). The risk of fire incidence is at its highest from June to September when there are adverse conditions like drought, high temperatures and strong winds (mainly the winds coming from central Spain, called “poniente”). The population density is very low and there are only few job opportunities (e.g. marginal agriculture, grazing, hunting, beekeeping). Most of the inhabitants work in the nuclear power plant. Forest management could be a source for jobs.

2.3 Fotos da tecnologia

2.5 País/região/locais onde a tecnologia foi aplicada e que estão cobertos nesta avaliação

2.6 Data da implementação

Caso o ano exato seja desconhecido, indique a data aproximada:

• menos de 10 anos atrás (recentemente)

2.7 Introdução da tecnologia

Especifique como a tecnologia foi introduzida:

• durante experiências/ pesquisa

Comentários (tipos de projeto, etc.):

This research was carried out in the framework of the SPREAD project funded by the European Commission (2002-2005), in the year 2003.

3.1 Principal/principais finalidade(s) da tecnologia

• Reduz, previne, recupera a degradação do solo
• Reduzir riscos de desastre

3.2 Tipo(s) atualizado(s) de uso da terra onde a tecnologia foi aplicada

Comentários:

Major land use problems (compiler’s opinion): In Spain the prevalent dense shrublands (dominated by seeder species), which resulted from agricultural land abandonment and fire occurrence, contain a high fire risk because of both the high fuel loads and their continuity. Resprouter species have been removed in the past and are therefore scarce, whereas seeder species are abundant and increase the risk of fires.

Selective felling of (semi-) natural forests: As a management practice. The forest should be cut more frequently since there is a huge amount of fuel but there is no money for management.
Plantation forestry: Almost the whole forest in this region was planted. Furthermore, they also planted different species as a management practice.

3.5 Grupo de GST ao qual pertence a tecnologia

• Gestão natural e seminatural de floresta
• Gestão de plantação florestal

3.6 Medidas de GST contendo a tecnologia

Comentários:

Specification of other vegetative measures: Introduction of fire resistant species
Type of vegetative measures: aligned: -linear

3.7 Principais tipos de degradação da terra abordados pela tecnologia

Comentários:

Main causes of degradation: deforestation / removal of natural vegetation (incl. forest fires) (Deforestation in the past (removal of resprouter species), land abandonment, uncontrolled growth of fire prone vegetation, afforestations, forest fires), other human induced causes (specify) (change of vegetation composition to fire-prone shrubland), population pressure (Vast areas were deforested in the past for agriculture, important key species were removed. After land abandonment there was a lack of management strategies.), poverty / wealth (The current economic crisis in Spain leads to a lack of investment in forest management, therefore only a minor part of forests is managed), labour availability (In the past there was outmigration from the region to the big cities and therefore there was a lack of management)
Secondary causes of degradation: change of seasonal rainfall (More variability in precipitation leads to a higher risk of fires), droughts (more fires during droughts), land tenure (The state is only allowed to apply management practices in public forest. The private forest is often not managed which increases the risk of fires and the resulting degradation), inputs and infrastructure: (roads, markets, distribution of water points, other, …) (There were big fires in the past because of the lack of fire extinction media like water ponds, streets, transport media (this has been improved now)), education, access to knowledge and support services (Loss of knowledge, important for today’s fires: People (especially from the cities) are not aware anymore of the risk of fire. In the past people lived with the risk and knew how to prevent fires.), governance / institutional (Law to induce implementation of conservation interventions (ley forestal 3/1993). Before this law was implemented there were less conservation practices and therefore a higher fire risk)

3.8 Redução, prevenção ou recuperação da degradação do solo

Especifique o objetivo da tecnologia em relação a degradação da terra:

• Prevenir degradação do solo
• Reduzir a degradação do solo

4.1 Desenho técnico da tecnologia

4.2 Informação geral em relação ao cálculo de entradas e custos

Outro/moeda nacional (especifique):

Euro

Se for relevante, indique a taxa de câmbio do USD para moeda local (por exemplo, 1 USD = 79,9 Real): 1 USD =:

0,74

4.3 Atividades de implantação

	Atividade	Periodicidade (estação do ano)
1.	Cutting and chipping (in-situ) trees and shrubs (removed species: ulex parviflorus, rosmarinus officinalis, cistus albidus. Natural regenerated species which are not cleared: pinus halepensis, pinus pinaster, quercus ilex, juniperus oxycedrus)	autumn/winter (when the vegetation activity is slowed down)
2.	Planting (planted species: pistacia lentiscus, quercus ilex, rhamnus alaternus)	autumn/winter (february 2003)

4.4 Custos e entradas necessárias para a implantação

	Especifique a entrada	Unidade	Quantidade	Custos por unidade	Custos totais por entrada	% dos custos arcados pelos usuários da terra
Equipamento	machine use	ha	1,0	3089,0	3089,0
Equipamento	tree shelters	ha	1,0	945,0	945,0
Material vegetal	seedlings	ha	1,0	4587,0	4587,0
Custos totais para a implantação da tecnologia					8621,0
Custos totais para o estabelecimento da Tecnologia em USD					11650,0

Comentários:

Duration of establishment phase: 0.5 month(s)

4.5 Atividades recorrentes/manutenção

	Atividade	Periodicidade/frequência
1.	There is no maintenance, but in case of maintenance they would do selective clearings (using machines)	all 5-7 years in autumn/winter

4.6 Custos e entradas necessárias pata a manutenção/atividades recorrentes (por ano)

	Especifique a entrada	Unidade	Quantidade	Custos por unidade	Custos totais por entrada	% dos custos arcados pelos usuários da terra
Equipamento	machine use	ha	1,0	446,0	446,0
Custos totais para a manutenção da tecnologia					446,0
Custos totais de manutenção da Tecnologia em USD					602,7

Comentários:

The costs were calculated for the application of the technology (combination of clearing and planting) on one hectare. The costs can vary depending on the amount of vegetation which has to be cleared (site specific). The costs of the clearing amount to 1090 Euro per ha (1470 Dollar). The costs of the plantation (both labour and machines) are approximately 5300 Euro per hectare (7150 Dollar). But it should also be noted that the application of the selective clearing and planting on a vast continuous area is not the aim of this technology, but rather to apply the treatments on some selected spots to reduce the continuity of fire-prone seeder species and to increase the probability of dispersal of resprouter species (e.g. by birds). Therefore the costs would be lower than indicated here.
The currency rate (Euro-Dollar) was calculated on November 16th, 2013.

4.7 Fatores mais importantes que afetam os custos

Descreva os fatores mais determinantes que afetam os custos:

Slope (if the slope is steep, the work is much more difficult and takes more time), distance from a street (people can work less in a day if they have to walk far to clear/plant), vegetation density (it takes more time to clear a densely vegetated area).

5.1 Clima

5.2 Topografia

5.3 Solos

5.4 Disponibilidade e qualidade de água

5.5 Biodiversidade

5.6 Características dos usuários da terra que utilizam a tecnologia

Indique outras características relevantes dos usuários da terra:

Difference in the involvement of women and men: The experiment was done by biologists, all of them were men.
Population density: < 10 persons/km2
Annual population growth: negative

5.8 Propriedade de terra, direitos de uso da terra e de uso da água

Propriedade da terra:

• Estado
• Indivíduo, intitulado

Direitos do uso da terra:

• Indivíduo

• public/open access but organised (e.g. wood, hunting)

• public/open access but organised (e.g. wood, hunting)

Comentários:

There is some public land, controlled by the state. But there is also some private land. The access to the public land is open but organized. Permission is needed from the government to cut trees, to build a house or to hunt. There are some private hunting areas for which the hunting association has to pay a fee.

6.1 Impactos no local mostrados pela tecnologia

Impactos socioeconômicos

Produção

Renda e custos

Impactos socioculturais

Impactos ecológicos

Ciclo hídrico/escoamento

Solo

Biodiversidade: vegetação, animais

Clima e redução de riscos de desastre

Outros impactos ecológicos

6.3 Exposição e sensibilidade da tecnologia às mudanças climáticas graduais e extremos/desastres relacionados ao clima (conforme o ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)

Mudança climática gradual

Mudança climática gradual

	Estação do ano	aumento ou diminuição	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Temperatura anual		aumento	não bem

Extremos (desastres) relacionados ao clima

Desastres meteorológicos

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Temporal local	bem
Tempestade de vento local	bem

Desastres climatológicos

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Seca	bem

Desastres hidrológicos

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Inundação geral (rio)	bem

Outras consequências relacionadas ao clima

Outras consequências relacionadas ao clima

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
temperature decrease, snow, frost	não bem

6.4 Análise do custo-benefício

Como os benefícios se comparam aos custos de implantação (do ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)?

Como os benefícios se comparam aos custos recorrentes/de manutenção(do ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)?

Comentários:

Short term returns are slightly negative because the management practice is expensive and until the trees reach a mature state, there are not many returns (in terms of wood and biomass). In the long term this management practice has very positive results because it increases the resilience to fires and can be seen as a sustainable management of fire-prone areas. Additionally, wood and biomass can be extracted. The idea is not to apply any maintenance in the first 10 years after the establishment.

6.5 Adoção da tecnologia

Comentários:

There is no adoption trend since this was only an experiment, but maybe there will be the possibility to upscale this technology in a regional project.

6.7 Pontos fortes/vantagens/oportunidades da tecnologia

Pontos fortes/vantagens/oportunidades na visão do usuário da terra
Almost all villagers prefer a managed forest. It has a high aesthetic and recreational value. Through the application of this technology the awareness of the risk of wildfires would probably increase.
Shepherds and farmers benefit from forest clearings. There are more young grasses in the forest which provides fodder for livestock. Also wild animals benefit from this food supply which in turn hinders them to destroy cultivated fields of the farmers.

Pontos fortes/vantagens/oportunidades na visão do compilador ou de outra pessoa capacitada
After fires, the natural landscape regenerated with a high and continuous fuel amount and a scarce occurrence of native resprouter species. It is crucial to apply management actions to reduce the fire hazard. The experiment demonstrated that it is possible to accelerate the post-fire vegetation response (which promotes ecosystem resilience).
Planting of resprouting species in post-fire areas can accelerate the natural process. Clearing of the vegetation reduces the fire risk, but this treatment may also enhance seedling establishment and growth.
The slash and brush chips generated by the clearings can be reused in the planting holes. This mulch layer protects the soil surface and reduces both the soil surface temperature and the germination of competing seeds while increasing the soil moisture content, especially in the driest periods.
The combination of clearing and planting resprouting species seems to be an appropriate option for managing these areas because, once established, the resprouting species persist for a long time and lead to an increase of the ecosystem resilience.
Social and economic benefits for the locals. Especially during the economic crisis the forest management is an important source for jobs.

6.8 Pontos fracos, desvantagens/riscos da tecnologia e formas de superá-los

Pontos fracos/vantagens/riscos na visão do compilador ou de outra pessoa capacitada	Como eles podem ser superados?
The management activities are expensive and labour-intensive. The state does not invest much money in prevention of forest fires but focuses more on fire extinction.	More investment in prevention of forest fires is required and this management practice could increase the ecosystem resilience against fires in the long term in a sustainable way. This would also generate jobs. This technology implies a combination of techniques (selective clearing and planting). Costs may be reduced by implementing individual techniques but positive results may also be reduced.
The technology could result in a reduction of the animal production because grazing should be restricted after planting to ensure the growth of the planted seedlings.	Since the technology would not be applied over vast areas but only locally on some plots, the fodder supply would probably still cover the needs of the animals.
Depending on the site, some soil may be exposed to erosion due to mechanical clearing.	Mulching with brush chipping can minimize or even solve this problem.
After clearing, an increase in wind velocity might occur.	The planted trees will grow which will again result in the reduction of this problem.

7.1 Métodos/fontes de informação

7.2 Referências às publicações disponíveis

Título, autor, ano, ISBN:

Valdecantos, A., Baeza, M.J., Vallejo, V.R. (2009): Vegetation management for promoting ecosystem resilience in fire-prone Mediterranean shrublands. Restoration Ecology 17, 3: 414-421.