Fire in Italian landscapes

The FIRE-ADAPT project has been a great opportunity to exchange ideas with fire researchers, build networks and collaborations and work on joint publications. Our secondments to Italy were no exception. First stop for Andrea Berardi and I was the University of Torino. Here, we collaborated mainly with Professor Lorenza Fontana and her FIREPOL project team, where they presented the project’s findings so far and we presented a publication in progress focused on equity in Integrated Fire Management. We also had exchanges with staff and students on arts-based research methods, particularly participatory theatre and on colonial legacies of fire management.

We then joined the Sardinian phase of the Italy Study Hub, a meeting of researchers from across Europe and Latin America. It was great to have many South American colleagues from us, especially Argentinian colleagues with whom we had collaborated last year!

From the maquis vegetation of the lowland coastal areas, the holm oak forests of the mountains, to the thick-barked, fire resilient cork oaks on the slopes, we spent two weeks learning about fire in the Sardinian context and the many challenges faced (rural depopulation, climate change, invasive species) and solutions (collaborative prescribed burns, fuel load management through grazing, replacing highly flammable non-native forestry with fire-resilient native species).

We also had time for some laser scanner training and for Bibiana Bilbao to work on the IFM Rapid Assessment Booklet deliverable!

Check out this video we made of a prescribed burn carried out by the Corpo Forestale to protect against wildfires. As well as skill and experience, they emphasised knowing the territory, the land, as a key element of working with fire: https://vimeo.com/1202614670