Mediterranean wildfires: historical environmental drivers
and ecological consequences (MedFires)

PIs:

• Peter Fulé, Forest Ecology Lab - Flagstaff, UArizona
• Christopher Carcaillet, Institut d'ecologie et environnement, Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et
  Anthropisés (UMR5023), Rhône-Auvergne

MedFires is an interdisciplinary project focusing on fire in the Mediterranean Basin. It hypothesizes that naturally fire-prone black pine forest socio-ecosystems (BP-SES) can be sustainable under low-intensity fire regimes but can be profoundly altered under fire suppression or high-intensity fires. Since the contribution of land use and climate on fires has changed over the past 150 years, the ongoing environment could alter the BP-SES and move it outside its long-term range of fire variability, resulting in the loss of its native biodiversity and resilience. Ecosystem management of this SES should emerge with “Nature-based solutions” from studies of interactions between drivers and consequences of wildfires. Thus, fire regimes, their drivers, and their effects must be described. The IEA aims to connect specialists in fire history, climate, biodiversity, and ecophysiology, through travel and collaborative meetings.