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The catalyst of Portugal forest fires is the extense eucalyptus plantations. Eucalyptus is an introduced pyrophyte species and it doesn't stay confined to the i

The catalyst of Portugal forest fires is the extense eucalyptus plantations. Eucalyptus is an introduced pyrophyte species and it doesn't stay confined to the initial plantation areas, reducing endemic forest, which is generally "fire-resistant", such as Sweet chestnut Castanea sativa.

pvaldes 7y ago
I understand what you want to say, and a better planning definitely wouldn't hurt, but blaming the tress because are flammable is like saying that the problem of school shootings is that people is shootable and wore shirts instead bullet-proof vests. Spain has Eucalyptus also. Curiously the private plantations burn often less than the public areas adjacent or the nature parks. Talk about weird statistics. Without a hand that starts the fire, several times, in several places, in the middle of the night, in the most windy and dry day of the year, with devices specially designed for it... without this hand, there is not fire.
- gota 7y ago
  > Curiously the private plantations burn often less than the public areas adjacent or the nature parks. Talk about weird statistics. Less people wandering around in private areas than public, smoking, making campfires, or generally just throwing flammable litter around?
- tumetab1 7y ago
  It has been proven in the USA, Canada, Australia that the damage caused by fires is not reduced by trying to stop ignitions, reducing the impact of the ignitions is a better strategy. Remember that ignitions by error or malice will always happen. > Without a hand that starts the fire, several times, in several places, in the middle of the night, in the most windy and dry day of the year, with devices specially designed for it... without this hand, there is not fire. There are also other explanations that do not require "mafias". Smokers, which many smoke inside the cars, and car/motorcycles backfires can explain many cases. Pay attention if the fires don't start at Friday and Saturday nights near rural roads.
- C1sc0cat 7y ago
  So are you saying there is some deliberate economic sabotage going on?
  - pvaldes 7y ago
    In some cases, Yes. There are several registered and solved cases of fires by revenge on natural parks
- hugoromano 7y ago
  "Designed to thrive after fires Like many plants native to fire-prone regions, eucalyptus trees (aka gum trees in Australia) are adapted to survive — or even thrive — in a wildfire. Fallen eucalyptus leaves create dense carpets of flammable material, and the trees' bark peels off in long streamers that drop to the ground, providing additional fuel that draws ground fires up into the leaves, creating massive, fast-spreading "crown fires" in the upper story of eucalyptus forests." https://www.livescience.com/40583-australia-wildfires-eucalyptus-trees-bushfires.html https://www.livescience.com/40583-australia-wildfires-eucaly...
rumanator 7y ago
> The catalyst of Portugal forest fires is the extense eucalyptus plantations. That's at best baseless speculation, and one that doesn't stand to any objective scrutiny. The truth of the fact is that there was no forest fire prevention policy until the deadly Pedrógão Grande fire that left well over 60 dead, and even then the main cause was widespread abandonment of public and private property, where even municipalities failed to comply with the minimum legal obligations of clearing up their property and roadsides.
- hugoromano 7y ago
  e.g. Madeira Island: Laurel forest doesn't burn by arson, efficiently, people that tried, never succeeded more than 10sq meters, and were arrested. Only Gorse ulex europaeus and eucalyptus not managed forests (all introduced species) did burn out of control, guaranteeing success of the arsonist. My point is that fire-resistant species would help reduce fire propagation. Not even in "Pedrógão Grande fire", only after the fires of mid-October 2017 did the Portuguese government started to react, and by react I mean enforcing the law that has been around for 20 years.
quixoticelixer- 7y ago
Unfortunately sweet chestnut is not a productive forestry species

pvaldes 7y ago

I understand what you want to say, and a better planning definitely wouldn't hurt, but blaming the tress because are flammable is like saying that the problem of school shootings is that people is shootable and wore shirts instead bullet-proof vests. Spain has Eucalyptus also. Curiously the private plantations burn often less than the public areas adjacent or the nature parks. Talk about weird statistics. Without a hand that starts the fire, several times, in several places, in the middle of the night, in the most windy and dry day of the year, with devices specially designed for it... without this hand, there is not fire.

gota 7y ago
> Curiously the private plantations burn often less than the public areas adjacent or the nature parks. Talk about weird statistics. Less people wandering around in private areas than public, smoking, making campfires, or generally just throwing flammable litter around?
tumetab1 7y ago
It has been proven in the USA, Canada, Australia that the damage caused by fires is not reduced by trying to stop ignitions, reducing the impact of the ignitions is a better strategy. Remember that ignitions by error or malice will always happen. > Without a hand that starts the fire, several times, in several places, in the middle of the night, in the most windy and dry day of the year, with devices specially designed for it... without this hand, there is not fire. There are also other explanations that do not require "mafias". Smokers, which many smoke inside the cars, and car/motorcycles backfires can explain many cases. Pay attention if the fires don't start at Friday and Saturday nights near rural roads.
C1sc0cat 7y ago
So are you saying there is some deliberate economic sabotage going on?
- pvaldes 7y ago
  In some cases, Yes. There are several registered and solved cases of fires by revenge on natural parks
hugoromano 7y ago
"Designed to thrive after fires Like many plants native to fire-prone regions, eucalyptus trees (aka gum trees in Australia) are adapted to survive — or even thrive — in a wildfire. Fallen eucalyptus leaves create dense carpets of flammable material, and the trees' bark peels off in long streamers that drop to the ground, providing additional fuel that draws ground fires up into the leaves, creating massive, fast-spreading "crown fires" in the upper story of eucalyptus forests." https://www.livescience.com/40583-australia-wildfires-eucalyptus-trees-bushfires.html https://www.livescience.com/40583-australia-wildfires-eucaly...

rumanator 7y ago

> The catalyst of Portugal forest fires is the extense eucalyptus plantations. That's at best baseless speculation, and one that doesn't stand to any objective scrutiny. The truth of the fact is that there was no forest fire prevention policy until the deadly Pedrógão Grande fire that left well over 60 dead, and even then the main cause was widespread abandonment of public and private property, where even municipalities failed to comply with the minimum legal obligations of clearing up their property and roadsides.

hugoromano 7y ago
e.g. Madeira Island: Laurel forest doesn't burn by arson, efficiently, people that tried, never succeeded more than 10sq meters, and were arrested. Only Gorse ulex europaeus and eucalyptus not managed forests (all introduced species) did burn out of control, guaranteeing success of the arsonist. My point is that fire-resistant species would help reduce fire propagation. Not even in "Pedrógão Grande fire", only after the fires of mid-October 2017 did the Portuguese government started to react, and by react I mean enforcing the law that has been around for 20 years.

quixoticelixer- 7y ago

Unfortunately sweet chestnut is not a productive forestry species