Assessing the feasibility of prescribed burning as a fire risk reduction tool for The Netherlands

Climate change is expected to cause prolonged and more severe droughts in Europe, increasing landscape fire occurrence. Since The Netherlands has a high population density in areas typified as ‘Wildland-Urban Interface’, a genuine risk for Dutch society arises. Landscape management, such as prescribed burning, can reduce fire risk. Prescribed burning is executed by intentionally burning the low and understory vegetation, limiting fuel for a landscape fire, under controlled conditions. In this interdisciplinary research, conducted by a team of (early career) researchers from climate science, cultural studies, hydrology, mathematics and spatial economics, we aim to assess whether prescribed burning can be used in The Netherlands as a fire risk reduction tool in natural areas with a high fire risk.

 

The Netherlands has a well-developed flood management system. However, it lacks such holistic approaches to landscape fire management. Landscape managers and researchers can learn from Dutch flood management by applying the secondary objective, improvement of spatial quality, to prescribed burning. In this research we assess the potential for improving spatial quality through prescribed burning, by adapting the spatial quality framework of the Dutch Room for the River project. Our framework looks at the three pillars burning effectiveness, ecological robustness, and cultural meaning at the potential prescribed burning sites. Burning effectiveness is highest in natural areas (Natura 2000 sites), with high fire risk and the presence of low vegetation. Ecological robustness measures the disturbance prescribed burning could cause in a landscape. Disturbance depends on the burning frequency and intensity, as well as on the type of vegetation that is burned and the usage of the area. In groundwater protection areas, seepage of harmful elements could cause more disturbance. These areas are therefore excluded from the analysis. From the perspective of cultural meaning, social perceptions influence the measure’s performance. Cultural significance and landscape identification provide various perspectives on fires and prescribed burning. Categorizing the different levels of engagement, based on an engagement pyramid, can deliver a basis for implementing prescribed burning.

 

Preliminary analyses result in a selection of 15 Natura 2000 sites in The Netherlands where prescribed burning could be feasible, varying from the Voornes Duin (14 km²) to the Veluwe (885 km²). These areas are mostly vegetated with coniferous and mixed forests. Prescribed burning potentially causes more disturbance in grasslands. However, since none of the 15 areas contain more than 24% grassland, prescribed burning could still be feasible at all locations. In the area of the Veluwe, qualitative interviews with the local population indicate support for fire management, such as prescribed burning, as they are aware of the risks imposed by landscape fires.

 

The final research results can contribute to the improvement of fire management in both The Netherlands and other North-Western European countries with similar vegetation and climate change effects.