Description: This action includes a set of activities for the assessment of specific procedures, tools and/or methodologies used for enhancing the planning capabilities aimed at mitigating the risk of large wildfires. The following activities will be completed:
- Derivation of a protocol for testing fire spread models in northern European fuel types (e.g. heather) relevant to the changing risk of fire in these fuels under the climate change scenarios operating at an EU level: on basis of this testing, identify performance characteristics of different fire spread models (e.g. FARSITE, Prometheus, Wildfire Analyst).
- Assessment of abilities to perform wildfire hazard and prediction of potential crown fire events through pilot site tests: development and use of crown fire hazard charts as a tool and training activities for planners and end-users.
- A common methodology to integrate ignition hazards into land-planning – tested through the implementation of a study on the spatial distribution of historic ignitions and fire ignition likelihood in a set of target study regions.
- Developing specific tools for training fire and landscape planners in the use of fire-spread simulation models, considering the lack of real opportunities for gaining field experience in detailed fire behaviour patterns, especially in northern Europe, due to the relative rarity of larger fires in many at risk locations.
- Cost-effective assessment of fuel treatments at the landscape level for the standardization of the cost-benefit approach in fuel treatments seeking for the valorization of rural development policies and green economy activities at EU context level.
- Assessment of the extent to which planners and end-users have an appropriate perception and comprehension of nature of large fire risks: selected questionnaires and interviews and a focus group discussion in one pilot site of each country of the partnership will be developed.
Expected results: Report of procedures, tools and methodologies for enhancing planning capabilities to mitigate and plan for large wildfire risk.
