Forest fire occurrence shows clear relationships with the numbers of nearby inhabitants and tourists in the Czech Republic-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Forest fire occurrence shows clear relationships with the numbers of nearby inhabitants and tourists in the Czech Republic

Published:2022-12-19 Issue: Volume: Page:
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Author:

Berčák Roman¹,Holuša Jaroslav²^ORCID,Trombik Jiří³,Resnerová Karolina³,Hlásny Tomáš¹

Affiliation:

1. Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources: Ceska Zemedelska Univerzita v Praze Fakulta agrobiologie potravinovych a prirodnich zdroju

2. CULS in Prague Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences: Ceska Zemedelska Univerzita v Praze Fakulta lesnicka a drevarska

3. Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences: Ceska Zemedelska Univerzita v Praze Fakulta lesnicka a drevarska

Abstract

Abstract Background The vulnerability of forests to fire results from complex interactions among climate, fuel availability (fuel load and moisture content of the vegetation), and ignition sources. The number of forest fires (FFs) has increased in many regions, therefore, it is necessary to reduce and monitor the fire risk. Based on data from 2006 to 2015, we used Generalized Additive Models to determine the degree to which local climate, the forest–urban interface, the percentage of conifers, the number of overnight tourists, and the number of local human inhabitants (residents) are related to the FF frequency in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). Results On a monthly scale, the FFs incidence showed distinct spring (April) and summer (July-August) peaks. No distinct pattern was identified on an annual scale, yet the highest number of FFs occurred in 2015, the hottest year in our records. The used predictors explained 45 and 46% of the variability in FFs on monthly and summer scales, respectively, and 69% on an annual scale. The number of FFs was related to the number of residents and the number of overnight tourists ha− 1 y− 1 of the forest. The effect of climate was manifested on monthly and summer scales only, with warmer and drier conditions associated with higher FF frequency. A higher proportion of conifers and the length of the forest-urban interface were positively associated with FF too. Finally, FF frequency was associated with the population density and number of overnights, suggesting the importance of human behavior in fire risk. Conclusions The significant relationships between the numbers of FFs and the number of residents and overnight tourists ha− 1 y− 1 of forest suggest that the risk of FFs could be controlled by increasing public awareness and implementing stricter regulations on tourist and local inhabitants’ behaviour.

Publisher

Research Square Platform LLC

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