27 septiembre 2018

THE ZAIDÍN EXPERIMENTAL STATION PARTICIPATES IN THE “OPEN2PRESERVE” PROJECT (COORDINATED BY ROSA MARÍA CANALS – PUBLIC UNIVERSITY OF NAVARRA) TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT MODELS THAT REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRES IN OPEN MOUNTAIN SPACES

RESEARCHERS FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN AGROSYSTEM ASSESSMENT, RECOVERY AND PROTECTION SERVICE (SERPAM) PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT ALONG WITH OTHER GROUPS AND SPANISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE INSTITUTIONS.

The open mountains spaces of south-west Europe are immersed in global change processes related to changes in land use and climate change that affect the planet. The reduction of grazing and abandonment of traditional uses cause a homogenisation of the landscape, accumulation of plant fuel and a drop in habitat biodiversity, which lead to a high risk of forest fires, aggravated by intense heat waves and prolonged droughts.

The OPEN2PRESERVE project seeks to minimise this problem through the development of a sustainable management model that enables the risk of fires to be reduced and guarantees the preservation of the ecosystem services and ecological quality of open mountains spaces with high environmental value. The model is based on the optimal combination of technical (controlled) fire and guided grazing (pyric herbivory). These techniques on their own do not have the desired effects, since the territory’s vegetation has adapted to fire and grows back quickly, meaning that controlled fires are not enough on their own. Also, controlling forest fuel with grazing along is not enough in dense and lignified zones without prior work to reduce biomass.

The project’s main objective is to guarantee the preservation of the ecosystem services and ecological quality of open mountain spaces with high environmental value, and to foster the socioeconomic development of the rural environment throughout the entire SUDOE space. This requires the creation of a management model for open mountain spaces that is sustainable, transferrable and of common use throughout the territory. Furthermore, innovative solutions that ensure the long-term economic sustainability and feasibility of the management model must be identified and assessed, promoting job creation and the sustainable development of the region.

This project’s partners are research groups from Spain (Higher Council of Scientific Research, Autonomous Government of Andalusia, CMAOT, Public University of Navarra, Santiago de Compostela University, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Navarro Institute of Agrifood Infrastructure Technologies), Portugal (U. de Trás-os-montes e Alto Douro, I. Politécnico de Bragança, Fund. Centro Tecnolóxico da Carne) and France (Pyrénées Atrlantiques Chamber of Agriculture, Société d´élevage des Pyrénées Orientales, Centro National de la Recherche Scientifique).