4th International Congress on Fire in the Earth System: Humans and Nature, June 2-5, 2025

Sessions 2025

On the Front Lines: The Human Health Impacts of Forest Fires and the Risks to Firefighters

Conveners

Morais, Simone  

Description

On the Front Lines: The Human Health Impacts of Forest Fires and the Risks to Firefighters
Mobilizing Data, Knowledge, and Wisdom in Fire Decision-making

Conveners

Kennedy, Eric B.  

Description

Mobilizing Data, Knowledge, and Wisdom in Fire Decision-making
Agroforestry: Reducing fires risk and Restoring forest fires while enhancing value chains

Conveners

Rigueiro, Javier Rodríguez  

Description

Agroforestry: Reducing fires risk and Restoring forest fires while enhancing value chains
Shifting vegetation structure and composition and implications for future flammability

Conveners

Alexander, Heather D.  

Description

Shifting vegetation structure and composition and implications for future flammability
Enhancing Wildfire Resilience with Machine Learning and Earth System Models

Conveners

Mao, Jiafu  
Hoffman, Forrest  
Yu, Yan  
Bot, Karol  

Description

As wildfires become increasingly frequent and severe, there is an urgent need to strengthen our resilience against these destructive events. This session focuses on the integration of advanced machine learning (ML) techniques with Earth system models to improve the understanding, prediction, and management of wildfire risks. Attendees will explore how ML algorithms can be employed to analyze large datasets, uncovering critical factors that drive wildfire occurrences and behavior. The session will also highlight the integration of historical observations with Earth system model outputs to refine and constrain projections of future wildfire activities. This integrated approach enables the development of high-resolution regional wildfire risk maps, which are crucial for both immediate response strategies and long-term planning. Additionally, the session will present innovative efforts to create hybrid wildfire models that combine the strengths of ML with traditional process-based approaches in Earth system modeling. These hybrid models are designed to enhance the accuracy and reliability of wildfire predictions under various climate scenarios. By bringing together experts in ML, Earth system modeling, and wildfire risk management, this session aims to advance the field of wildfire resilience. Participants will gain valuable insights into cutting-edge methodologies that can inform and support policy and management decisions, ultimately mitigating wildfire risks.
Uncovering the Unseen: Wildfires effects on Aquatic Ecosystem

Conveners

Campos, Isabel  

Description

Uncovering the Unseen: Wildfires effects on Aquatic Ecosystem
Modelling fire in the Earth System

Conveners

Harrison, Sandy P.  
Haas, Olivia  

Description

Modelling fire in the Earth System
Challenges and Solutions in the Wildland-Urban Interface: A Growing Threat of Wildfires

Conveners

Elia, Mario  
Oliveira, Sandra  
Bar-Massada, Avi  

Description

As urban expansion continues to encroach upon natural landscapes, the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) has emerged as a critical zone of vulnerability for wildfires. This session explores the unique challenges associated with WUI areas, where human development meets wildland vegetation, significantly increasing the exposure to wildfires. We will discuss the primary factors contributing to the rising frequency and severity of WUI fires, including climate change, land-use planning, and human activities. Key topics will include fire behavior in WUI zones, the role of community preparedness and education, and the need for integrated fire management strategies that involve local governments, urban planners, and environmental agencies. Case studies from recent wildfires will illustrate the urgent need for comprehensive policies and technologies to mitigate wildfire risks, protect lives, property, and ecosystems, and ensure sustainable development in fire-prone areas. Attendees will gain insights into best practices for improving fire resilience in WUI regions, including innovations in firefighting techniques, landscape management, and fire-adaptive building designs. This session is vital for policymakers, urban planners, emergency responders, and environmental professionals dedicated to addressing the increasing threat posed by wildfires at the WUI. This session encompasses the key issues surrounding the Wildland-Urban Interface and wildfires, appealing to a broad audience interested in disaster management, urban planning, and environmental sustainability.
Forest and Wildfire Risk Governance: Obstacles and Opportunities

Conveners

Skulska, I.  
Gomes, P.  
Colaço, C.M.  
Rego, F.  

Description

This section aims to analyse the main challenges and opportunities in forest governance and wildfire risk management, focusing on models that involve collaboration between multiple stakeholders. The governance of forest, even if it is on State property, private or communal land, requires effective coordination between local communities, national, and regional authorities, state forest services, NGOs, academia, and the private sector. While the decentralisation of forest management is a growing trend in several countries, its implementation faces significant obstacles, such as bureaucracy and inconsistent State support. Throughout the section, we will examine various governance models adopted in different countries, highlighting the strategies used to address wildfire risk. We will analyse models such as Baldios Clusters, ZIF, AIGP in the context of Portugal and similar ones in other European countries. In this way, we intend to discuss the successes and challenges all these models have faced in their implementation, evaluating their contribution – or lack thereof – to reducing wildfire risk and promoting sustainable forest management. Additionally, we will consider the economic and social factors that directly impact the effectiveness of these models. We aim to identify barriers and synergies in legislation and practice and propose ways to improve coordination among the different actors involved. This critical analysis is essential for developing more effective public policies to increase forests' resilience and ensure their sustainability in the face of the growing wildfire threat. Furthermore, we hope the insights gained from this session will serve as a foundation for future international collaboration. KEYNOTES
  1. Collaborative Forest Governance Models for Wildfire Risk Mitigation. Explore how different collaboration models between various stakeholders can contribute to wildfire risk mitigation.
  2. Decentralisation in Forest Management: Opportunities and Challenges. Analise the decentralization of forest management in various countries, highlighting the challenges such as bureaucracy, overlapping regulations, and lack of State support, as well as the opportunities to enhance forest resilience through more effective governance.
  3. Best Practices in Reducing Wildfire Risk: Lessons from European Forest Governance Models. Compare different forest governance models adopted in European countries, in different kind of state property, private or communal land, to reduce wildfire risk, highlighting the lessons learned and the successful strategies in terms of sustainability and resilience.
  4. The Role of Economic and Social Factors in Sustainable Forest Management. Discuss the impact of economic and social factors on the effectiveness of forest governance models, with a focus on the implementation of public policies that promote sustainability and enhance resilient against wildfires
Nature-Based Solutions in fire management

Conveners

Keesstra, Saskia  

Description

Nature-Based Solutions in fire management
Wildfires and Climate

Conveners

Gouveia, Célia  
da Camara, Carlos  

Description

Fire is a natural disturbance of ecosystems, a necessary element for the ongoing survival of ecological communities. Negative impacts arise when fire cannot be controlled in time and space. The co-occurrence of several factors, such as high temperature, low humidity, and the lack of moisture in fuels drives wildfires. All these factors are directly or indirectly related to climate variability and climate change. Recent climate changes induce warmer and drier weather conditions, increasing fuel aridity, leading to longer and more active fire seasons and increasing the burned area in several parts of the world. There has been reported an increase in extreme wildfires in Chile, North America, Australia, and Brazil, among other regions and several climate models projected that these tendencies will continue. Understanding the link between wildfires and current and future climate patterns and variations in the fire regime in response to climate change is crucial for better-defining management and prevention measures. The impact of climate on fire behaviour is still a challenging research topic due to the role played by individual and composed factors, such as climate, vegetation and fire activity. This session aims to encourage experts to analyse this topic from different perspectives, contributing to the increase of our understanding of the nexus between climate and wildfire, namely using new methods in remote sensing, ground observation, and field campaigns.
Soil erosion and forest fires. The fate of sediments, water, nutrients, and soils in landscapes affected by fires

Conveners

Cerdà, Artemi  
Kastridis, Aristeidis  
Noske, J. Philip  
Huang, Xiaozhong  
De Girolamo, Anna Maria  
Leys, Bérangère  
Morán-Ordóñez, Alejandra  
Elliot, William  
Kampf, K. Stephanie  

Description

Soil erosion is a key process to understand the landforms and their evolution. Forest fires determine the spatial and temporal changes in soil erosion rates. This is therefore that forest fires induce changes in vegetation and soil properties that finally trigger changes in soil infiltration, soil water retention, sediment transport, and runoff generation. The measurement scale highly affects the impact of fire on soil and watershed hydrology and soil erosion. Measurements and experiments carried out at different scales show that fire induces a sudden increase in runoff (less interception, lack of soil litter, water repellency…..) and an increase in sediment transport, soil crust development, and finally a more degraded soil. There is a need to understand better the impact of fire on the connectivity of flows and sediments, the role of water repellency, and the strategies to recover the ecosystems after the forest fire. This session welcomes pure and applied scientific research to discuss the best methods to manage fire and avoid the impact on soil and watersheds due to fire. Experimental and theoretical research with site demonstration and literature review are welcome. Soil erosion measurements, estimations, models, and case study sites will be shown in this scientific session in Setubal, in June 2025.
Pyric herbivorism: a forest fire prevention management tool

Conveners

Mosquera-Losada, María Rosa  
Ferreiro-Domínguez, Nuria  
Santiago-Freijanes, José Javier  
Robles, Ana Belén  
Ramos, María Eugenia  
Garciandia, Leticia San Emeterio  
Canals-Tresserras, Rosa María  

Description

Spain is one of the EU countries with the largest history of forest fires, but both the causes and the impact differs enormously across the different Spanish biogeographic regions. The combination of prescribed/controlled fires is a technique used across the globe to reduce biomass and therefore forest fire intensity to allow fireman to extinguish the fires as fast as possible. However, the efficiency of these prescribed/controlled fires can be promoted if after the vegetation sprout grazing is allowed. This session will discuss the last advances of the pyric herbivorism in three biogeographic regions of Spain (Andalucia, Navarra and Galicia). Papers from other regions linked to this topic will also be more than welcome.
How physics can contribute in understanding wildfire behaviour

Conveners

Morvan, Dominique  

Description

How physics can contribute in understanding wildfire behaviour