Relationships Between Wildfires, Management Modalities of Community Areas, and Ownership Types in Pine Forests of Mainland Portugal

Abstract

Investigations of factors influencing wildfire risks in Mediterranean forest areas have rarely considered the possible influence of the ownership type and management modalities in forest areas owned and/or managed by rural communities, referred to as baldios in Portugal. This study aimed to analyse the relationship between forest ownership types and the management modalities of community forests in the distribution of wildfires in Pinus pinaster areas of Portugal over the past 40 years. We carried out a comparative analysis of P. pinaster forests and wildfires considering three ownership types (community, private, and state forests) and four different management modalities of the community lands (by local communities or local authorities through independent management or in co-management with national Forest Services). The protection status of the pine forests was also considered. We also evaluated the possible influence of topographic variables—elevation, slope, and aspect—and their relationships with ownership types, management modalities, and protection status. To evaluate the trends and making use of the existing cartography, the study period (1975 to 2017) was subdivided into three time periods (1975–1989, 1990–2009, and 2010–2017). The results revealed significant differences in the annual percentage of burned areas in different among ownership types but no differences among protected and unprotected areas. Baldios showed the highest percentage of burned area relative to their total area, but some differences between the management modalities are apparent. Furthermore, the proportion of burned area increased over the study period, particularly with a very large area burned in 2017, possibly reflecting climatic changes and a decrease in management activities. This indicates that forest management should be strengthened, with special attention to fuel management. Fuel reduction could be improved through the development of new bioeconomic activities in community forests.