CYPFIRE P.O. Med Genesis of the project

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1 Roberto Danti CNR Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Florence (Italy) CYPFIRE P.O. Med: Implementation of the cypress system as a green firewall

2 CYPFIRE P.O. Med Genesis of the project Wildfire in the Mediterranean region (FAO, 2013) more than fires ( ), fires per year; more than 2 million ha were burnt ( ha per year) Forest fire is one of the devastating elements predicted to increase as a result of climate change. Current fire management privileges fire suppression and preventive land management is someway neglected. Fire prevention measures deserve more attention. With expected increasing risk, sharing experiences is relevant. Identify innovative strategies, best available practices and possible policy instruments.

3 CYPFIRE P.O. Med Genesis of the project The project originated from: Empirical observations which have evidenced that sometimes cypress resulted less affected by fire compared to other species; Existing examples (Turkey) of fire-breaks reinforced with cypress rows; Common cypress is a typical feature of our landscape; It is known for its tolerance to drought and poor soils; Deep knowledge of cypress: 40 years studies at (IPSP-CNR) on defence, selection and enhancement: 10 EU projects on cypress (since 1980); Two previous Interreg projects, CYPMED ( ) and MEDCYPRE ( ) on natural risk management.

4 CYPFIRE P.O. Med The Cypfire project evaluated the possible use of a cypress system to reduce impact and risk of wildfires in the Mediterranean. Andilla, Comunidad Valenciana, June 2012

5 CYPFIRE P.O. Med The Role of Cypress in controlling Forest Fires. Why cypress? Some traits of C. s. var. horizontalis were taken into consideration by the CYPFIRE P.O. Med Project to assess the effectiveness of cypress plantations as wildfire barriers. Key - features: the dense litter layer which even prevents development of the understory vegetation; effectiveness of cypress as windbreak: availability of selected cypress lines suitable to make effective wind-break barriers. the crown architecture of horizontalis form which does not favour accumulation of dead fuel inside; the relatively low flammability of living crown parts; Use of cypress canker resistant varieties.

6 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: what was done. A standard methodology was developed to assess flammability of cypress (and other species) to: Assess vulnerability of vegetation; Evaluate fire risk; Plan preventive measures. Cypress plantations established in 9 countries were studied to: evaluate morpho-physiological features; select the most proper clones (adaptation, habit, growth). Spreading knowledge on effective land management measures for fire prevention; Meetings, seminars, summer schools, brochures, manuals.

7 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: partners

8 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: partners Programme: P.O.MED Start date: June 2010 End date: May 2013 Lead Partner: Region of Sicily - Department of Agriculture and Forests Partners: Plant Protection Institute CNR (Florence, Italy) Siena Provincial council (Siena, Italy) National Forest Office of Corsica (Corsica, France) Community of Valencia, Department of Monumental trees (Valencia, Spain) Institute for the conservation of nature and forests (Algarve, Portugal) Technological Educational Institute (Crete, Greece) Mgarr Local Council (Mgarr, Malta) Associated partners: Istituto Superior de Agronomia (Lisbon, Portugal), Institut National de Recherches en Génie Rural Eaux et Forêt de Tunisie (Tunis, Tunisia), The Hebrew University of Gerusalem (Gerusalem, Israel), Akdeniz Univesity (Antalya, Turkey)

9 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: partners Forest services, Regional Forest offices, Provincial Administrations; oall were involved in the issue of wildfires and other natural risks; Universities and research institutions: studied the factors related to impact and risk of fire; Transnational added value: Establishment of a task force at Mediterranean level to develop new technologies against natural risks.

10 CYPFIRE P.O. Med Cypress system: what do we mean? System of cypresses: a) selected trees with a peculiar crown shape; b) trees have to be arranged properly (multirows) to optimize the wind-break function and to avoid wind corridors; the compenetrating dense crowns reduce the internal air exchange (low comburent); high litter density (reduced circulation of air, higher humidity retention); mulching action of litter prevents development of understory. delay the propagation of fire mitigate impact and risk of mild fires They are not intended as a universal solution, but their use have to be planned for specific sites.

11 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: what was good We have observed empirically what occurred in nature. We realized that cypress has been used somewhat for fire protection. Standard procedures were defined to assess vulnerability of vegetation to fires and increase knowledge on fire prevention. Studies showed that cypress has a low ignitability and reduces the combustible mass at soil level. Functionality of cypress plantations was studied and the most proper clones were selected in each country. Promoting the establishment of plantations to mitigate the impact of natural risks. Spreading knowledge on land management measures to mitigate natural risks.

12 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: outputs 7 Meetings and Workshops in: Florence, Siena, Palermo, Malta, Heraklion, Valencia, Corse. 2 Summer Schools: in Florence (23-27 May 2011) and Faro (21-25 May 2012). 2 Scientific papers; 2 Brochure and 2 manuals to protect and enhance the use of cypress as a multipurpose tree, and as a tool to mitigate natural risks.

13 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: what is missing A clear scientific assessment at plantation level of the interaction between cypress and fire. but In the district of Valencia a series of cypress pilot plantations (barriers) were planned to establish in sensible areas; In Tuscany, the regional forest regulations were changed to include cypress among the species that can be used in land management to prevent fires. The Siena district set up cypress plantations in pine woodlands threatened by fire. These are 2 examples of good practices, they represent a way to increase knowledge at field level. More studies are needed to better know the behaviour of fire, expecially at tree and plantation level.

14 CYPFIRE P.O. Med: capitalisation MEDLAND 2020 (July 2013-December 2014) Design of a future common integrated land management scheme to protect natural resources in synergy with social and economic valorisation. Capitalization of 13 P.O. Med projects 14 partners from France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania. Thematic axis: Natural risks management (especially wildfires), increasing the efficiency of fire prevention, citizens and infrastructure protection and social awareness. Outputs Policy Brief: political recommendations; E-book: technical and methodological recommendations; Database: on-line platform and search engine covering all digital documents on operational tools and best practices.

15 CYPFIRE MEDLAND 2020 Operational tools and policies Use of developed protocols to assess vulnerability of vegetation to fires (both through lab trials and investigations in woodlands, WUI etc.); Spreading results and methodologies about the use of cypress barriers as a green way to mitigate the vulnerability to fires in the Mediterranean countries; Increase efficiency of fire prevention based on land management measures; Involvement of public authorities (municipalities, districts) in making pilot plantations following established criteria (as done in the district of Siena) to increase knowledge; Support best practices of land management for wildfires prevention at local level. Insert the proposed tools in interdisciplinary models about management of territory. Spread effective land management measures to mitigate the impact of wildfires and other natural risks and make them more visible to policy makers.

16 CYPFIRE P.O. Med Concrete achievements Loc. Pievescola, Prov. Siena, Italy Feb. 2016

17 CYPFIRE P.O. Med other achievements Support to local nurseries; Source of timber; Reduction of costs compared to fire-breaks; Benefits for the landscape, environment, biodiversity, health of community and rural economy; Training of technicians on the use of green barriers as a complement to manage natural risks; Exchange of researchers; Involvement of public authorities (councils, districts) in the prevention of fires and natural risks.