Abstract
Wildland fires represent a major threat to Quercus suber L. ecosystems, which provide relevant socioeconomic and ecological services in the Mediterranean Basin. In this work, we analyzed recent wildland fire dynamics in cork oak woodlands along the fire-prone areas of Sardinia (Italy), Corsica (France) and Catalonia (Spain). We first characterized geographic extent and main characteristics of cork oak woodlands in these regions and analyzed how environmental (climate and elevation) and socioeconomic factors (population and land uses) vary in the areas covered by Quercus suber L. We then evaluated how wildfires affected cork oak stands and, by logistic regression analysis, to what extent wildfires in cork oak areas were related to the above set of environmental and anthropic explanatory variables. Results revealed specific variations across study areas in cork oak characteristics as well as in environmental and social factors. We highlighted the spatial and temporal patterns of wildfires on cork oak woodlands, in terms of extent, seasonality, frequency and main driving factors. In the period 2003–2015, the percentage of cork oak woodlands burned ranged from 3.42% in Corsica to 11.30% in Sardinia. A few large and severe wildfires accounted for most of the area burned in cork oak woodlands. The most significant predictive variable that explained the spatial variation in wildland fire ignitions inside or nearby cork oaks was summer precipitation, while the weight of other factors varied depending on the region. This study provides evidence on recent fire dynamics in cork oak woodlands and gives valuable information and insights for the implementation of forest management and planning strategies in the Mediterranean area.
Highlights
Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a long-lived evergreen tree, endemic to the Mediterranean basin (EEA 2007)
The main research questions of this work are: (1) What are the main geographic, environmental and socioeconomic characteristics of the areas covered by Quercus suber L. woodlands? (2) To what extent have wildfires threatened cork oaks? (3) Do environmental and socioeconomic factors explain the historical wildfire incidence in Quercus suber L. woodlands? The answers to these questions provide insights and data on wildland fire dynamics that can support the implementation of forest management strategies and policies specific for cork oak forests
Sardinia has about 138,400 ha of lands covered by cork oak (5.75% of the regional territory), while in Corsica the area covered by cork oak woodlands is around 64,500 ha (7.40% of the regional territory) (Table 2)
Summary
Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a long-lived (up to hundreds of years) evergreen tree, endemic to the Mediterranean basin (EEA 2007). Cork oak woodlands are mostly concentrated in a few Mediterranean countries and cover about 2.2 million hectares (FAO 2013). Extended author information available on the last page of the article. The high presence of Quercus suber L. in the Mediterranean Basin is linked to its high economic and cultural value for rural communities (Urbieta et al 2008; FAO 2013; Corona et al 2018): cork is the second most important marketable non-wood forest product in the western Mediterranean Basin, with annual world cork market exports close to € 1.45 billion (Aronson et al 2009; Catry et al 2012a; APCOR 2016). Cork oak forests supply a number of other goods and ecosystem services, including habitats for many
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
