Post-Wildfire Land Restoration in Spain

Understanding Nature Restoration After Wildfires

How Do Wildfires Cause Land Degradation?

Wildfires represent one of the most dramatic forms of land degradation. These large, destructive fires rapidly consume woodland and bushland, leading to significant biodiversity loss and land damage.

Land Life's expertise extends to restoring lands affected by wildfires and other causes of degradation, such as pests and diseases, or areas suffering from rural abandonment, each presenting unique challenges and restoration approaches.

Global weather pattern shifts have resulted in longer dry seasons and higher temperatures, extending wildfires' reach and severity to previously unaffected regions.

• Natural Causes: Wildfires are a natural occurrence in many ecosystems, crucial to ecological cycles. A common natural cause is lightning, which can ignite fires in vulnerable, dry forests.
• Human Activities: Common causes include accidental ignitions from campfires, or cigarettes and land clearing practices.
• Climate Change Effects: Longer, more intense dry seasons and higher temperatures, both linked as effects of climate change, significantly increase the risk and severity of wildfires.

Land Life’s Approach to Post-Wildfire Restoration

Land Life has developed tailored strategies to rehabilitate land devastated by wildfires. Our approach combines scientific understanding with practical experience, focusing on rebuilding resilient ecosystems that can withstand future fire events.

• Before the reforestation project: First, we assess the site and its surrounding area. This includes analyzing the damage caused by fire, past fires in the region, and the region's climate conditions. This allows us to determine which species should be planted to ensure optimum resistance. If the fire risk is too high, the project will not be pursued.
• During the planting: In areas at higher risk of wildfires, we plant less densely and focus on a diverse mix of the most resilient native tree species. We also increase landscape resiliency by considering the site's integration into the broader landscape, including roadways, fire breaks, and fire buffers (i.e., planting fire-resistant species).
• Aftercare and management: Fire severity can increase in growing stands due to increased ladder fuels and biomass (dead and alive), so forest management is essential. We actively reduce wildfire risk by maintaining fire breaks, forest thinning, and prescribed burning.