Moreira, F., and Pe’er, G. (2018). Agricultural policy can reduce wildfires. Science 359, 1001–1001. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat1359
(2018年3月发表)
Last year, once again, forest fires took their toll in southern Europe. In Portugal alone, at least 500,000 ha were burned, 100 people were killed, and 500 houses were lost (1, 2). As in most Mediterranean countries, wildfires raged mainly through abandoned farmland that has turned into forests and shrublands.
Agriculture is an important driver of European wildfires. It is a major source of fire ignitions (3, 4). Additionally, farmland abandonment and policies promoting forestry increase fire hazard, as they lead to vegetation growth and fuel build-up in the landscape (5). However, agriculture is also part of the solution. Agricultural areas, such as crops, orchards, and grasslands, are much less fire-prone, particularly if they include irrigated crops (5, 6). The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a powerful financial instrument that can contribute to sustainable environmental management and climate change adaptation. The vision for CAP, recently proposed by the European Commission (7), addresses natural hazards from climate change, including fire, but focuses on farmers and their crops.
The CAP should assume a larger role in reducing fire hazard by addressing four priorities. First, CAP should foster the maintenance or reintroduction of extensive livestock grazing in areas prone to abandonment. Second, CAP should promote agricultural use in the wildland–urban interface, mainly around villages in remote areas where the historical surrounding agricultural area has been lost, resulting in vegetation succession and an increased risk of economic damage and loss of human lives. These agricultural belts can passively protect urban areas and valuable infrastructures, in addition to facilitating both firefighting operations and the suppression of fire ignitions. Third, CAP should decrease fire ignitions by regulating the burning of crop residues, the use of fire by shepherds in mountain ranges, and the use of agricultural machinery during the dry season. Fourth, CAP should promote adequate forest management in high–fire risk areas, including protecting and restoring open woodland vegetation (such as wood pastures), giving preference to agro-forestry over dense tree plantations, restoring the use of understory biomass as bio-energy to avoid accumulation of flammable material, and selecting native, less fire-prone, tree species in forestry [such as native oak species instead of pine or eucalyptus (5, 8)].
Megafires are mostly driven by weather conditions (9), and with climate change we should anticipate an increase in their frequency and impact, especially in southern Europe (10). The current strong investment in fire suppression, in a context of farmland abandonment, results in increased fuel loads and potential for larger future fires (11). The European agricultural policy should instead balance fire suppression with nature-based solutions. Multifunctional, fire-resilient, mosaic landscapes can maintain both natural and cultural assets and serve to reduce fire intensity and damage when burned.
Francisco Moreira and Guy Pe’er
参考翻译: 去年，南欧的森林火灾再次造成严重损失。仅在葡萄牙，就有至少50万公顷土地被烧毁，100人死亡，500栋房屋被毁（1,2）。与大多数地中海国家一样，野火主要发生在被弃耕、并已演替为森林和灌丛的农田上。
农业是欧洲野火的重要驱动因素。一方面，农业活动是火源点的重要来源（3,4）。另一方面，农田弃耕以及鼓励造林的政策增加了火灾风险，因为这些因素会导致植被生长和可燃物在景观中的累积（5）。然而，农业本身也可以成为解决方案的一部分。农业用地，如农作物种植区、果园和草地，其火灾易发性远低于森林，尤其是在有灌溉的情况下（5,6）。欧盟的共同农业政策（CAP）是一项重要的财政工具，可以促进可持续环境管理和气候变化适应。欧盟委员会最近提出的CAP愿景（7）确实关注气候变化引发的自然灾害（包括火灾），但其重点主要仍放在农民及其作物上。
CAP应在降低火灾风险方面发挥更大作用，重点包括四个方面。第一，应鼓励在易被弃耕的地区维持或重新引入广泛放牧。第二，应促进野地—城市交界地带（wildland–urban interface）周边的农业利用，特别是在偏远村庄周围，这些地区历史上的农田已消失，导致植被自然演替，并增加经济损失和人员伤亡的风险。这些农业带可以被动保护城镇和关键基础设施，同时也有助于消防作业和火源抑制。第三，应通过规范秸秆焚烧、牧民在山区用火，以及旱季农业机械的使用来减少火灾点火源。第四，应在高火灾风险地区加强森林管理，包括保护和恢复疏林植被（如林地牧场），优先发展农林复合系统而非高密度人工林，恢复林下生物量作为生物能源利用以避免可燃物积累，并在林业中选择本地、耐火性更高的树种（例如优先使用本地橡树而非松树或桉树）（5,8）。
超级火灾（megafires）主要由气象条件驱动（9）。随着气候变化的发展，我们应预期其发生频率和影响将进一步增加，尤其是在南欧地区（10）。当前在农田弃耕背景下对灭火的高度投资，反而导致可燃物负荷增加，并为未来更大规模的火灾埋下隐患（11）。欧洲农业政策应在灭火投入与基于自然的解决方案之间取得平衡。多功能、具备抗火能力的镶嵌式景观（mosaic landscapes）既能维持自然与文化资产，也能在发生火灾时降低火强度和破坏程度。
原文链接:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat1359
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