Forest management using prescribed fires : opportunities and barriers

Abstract

Fire shaped for million years earth ecosystems. With exception of the polar and wet regions there is no ecosystem that was not visited by the fire. Thus fire is natural element of the landscape and it is not possible understand world evolution without consider fire behaviour. Also, fire is controlled by man since much time ago, for food choice, cooking, hunt, protection from the predators, communication with between communities, agriculture, cattle, but especially to survive until our days. Nevertheless, in present time, urban societies forgot or do not recognized the role of fire in the ecosystems, leading to unmeasured and unknown forest fire exclusion and suppression. This attitude is increasing the vulnerability of forest to fires occurrence. The mentioned above in conjunct with the lack of forest management, land-use changes, climate change and criminal hand is contributing to the occurrence of large wild land fires with tremendous impacts on society. Facing this problems, we as fire researchers, propose the forest management based on prescribed fires, due many clear advantages, especially, fuel reduction, inexistence of coercive effects on the ecosystems, restitution of nutrients to the soil and re-introduction of fire in the ecosystems. This means that we have an opportunity to manage with sustainability our landscapes. However, many barriers to the implementation of prescribed fire as tool to landscape management especially in the society and in the authorities.