Maps
The staff of the Laboratory prepared for “E.T.” of Sunday comparative satellite maps, focused on the large fires that have affected Attica in recent years. The one that shows the area of Penteli that burned both in the recent fire and in 2009 stands out. The percentage of overlap reaches 69%, “highlighting the high repeatability of the phenomenon in this area”!
According to the research of the Laboratory’s executives, approximately 13% of the areas of Attica that burned after 2016 had burned again between 2000 and 2015!
“The last event that took place in Attica concerns the fire in the region of Northeast Attica, which burned mainly bushy forest vegetation (38%), while 13% of the total area concerns forest areas with tall trees. Also, a significant area of 3,110 acres (3% of the burned area) concerns urban fabric, revealing the devastating effects of forest fires on both the natural and man-made environment”, he states to “ET”. on Sunday, Mr. Gitas.
Data
According to the data of the National Observatory of Forest Fires, which has carried out more than 640 mapping of fires since its inception (2016), more than 700,000 acres have burned in the Attica region (50 incidents).
In particular, the bush-forest lands (40%) and coniferous forests (20%) make up the largest part of the burned areas, with a cumulative percentage of more than 60%. It is also worth noting that 5.75% of the burned areas concern areas within the urban fabric, while a percentage of the order of 4.5% concerns areas under regeneration, which burned after 2016. The largest percentage (50%) of the burned of areas that burned two or three times in the last nine years concerns areas with regeneration, which is characterized by a low height of vegetation, while a small percentage (5%) concerns parts of the urban fabric, which has been repeatedly affected by fires.
In the areas that are burned for the second time, the low herbaceous vegetation presents a small percentage of the total coverage (9.12%), while it is observed that the high forests, consisting of conifers (7.4%) and mixed species (2.37 %), do not make up a significant part of the burnt area. Also, the areas that burn for the third time are mainly bush (44.6%), with the areas under regeneration making up 51% of the total coverage of the burned area.
“Fires are one of the most critical factors affecting ecosystems and societies worldwide. According to recent studies, more than four million square kilometres, an area equivalent to the size of India and Pakistan combined, are burned globally every year,” said Mr Gitas.
He explained that fire is a natural process and an integral part of the evolution of many ecosystems, including the Mediterranean, playing a key role in the composition of natural plant communities and biodiversity. Forest fire activity is significantly influenced both by the climate and weather conditions of the respective area as well as by the state of the ecosystem and socio-economic pressures.
“Overheat”
“It is generally accepted that the observed global warming is expected not only to increase the frequency and severity of wildfires, but also to exacerbate the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. Therefore, the potential abrupt change in the frequency, intensity, type and spread of forest fires will significantly affect biodiversity and the natural evolution of ecosystems. The main ecological impacts concern the natural succession of vegetation, the health of ecosystems, the sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, water runoff and soil erosion.
In addition, fires also have significant socio-economic impacts and can affect lives, homes and other human values. In any case, repeated fires can lead to the degradation of both natural ecosystems and all production factors, drastically reducing the level of biotic conditions in the burned areas”, underlined the postdoctoral researcher, scientific collaborator of the Laboratory and expert in remote sensing and geographic information systems, Nikolaos Georgopoulos.
As he pointed out, Earth observation data is a unique tool for dynamic monitoring of forest fires, as well as their effects on the natural and man-made environment. Thus they can be used as an objective tool for monitoring the temporal evolution and recovery of natural ecosystems, thus contributing to long-term ecological research. In addition, they can be used both by the relevant public services and by various independent bodies as a monitoring tool for the rehabilitation activities of an affected area.
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