Characterising land cover—wildfire interactions in Catalonia and their implications for resilience

Abstract

Background: In recent years, wildfire events have become increasingly challenging in many regions around the world. In Mediterranean Europe, wildfires are a natural part of the ecosystem. However, in recent decades, such fires have become more impactful due to years of land abandonment, fire suppression, and climatic changes. Characterizing the interactions between wildfires and land cover is important for understanding which land cover type is most likely to burn, and how this can be used to guide future landscape management. Results: We quantified land cover extents for wildfires in Catalonia, northeast Spain, from 2009 to 2022, looking at the fire interior, fire edge, and fire refugia. We found over 70% of burnt areas were forest, shrub, and grasslands, while over 50% of the fire refugia was cultivated land. Shrub and grasslands burned disproportionately more than forested areas when compared to average land cover values. Around fire edges, roads, watercourses, and cultivated areas were more prevalent than on average in Catalonia. The results show that agricultural activity is important for providing fire refuges as well as helping contain fires. Conclusions: These results emphasize the importance of maintaining current agricultural landscapes and investing in rural livelihoods to enhance landscape resilience to fire. Conversely, the predisposition of forest and shrublands to burn decreases the Catalonia’s resilience to wildfire events, indicating that more management is needed in these areas.