Fire risk in the pine forest: smoldering fires threaten in secret!

Fire risk in the pine forest: smoldering fires threaten in secret!

The forests in Germany are increasingly in the focus of the public, especially when it comes to forest fires. Current studies show that firing in pine forests with sandy soils in particular can keep dangerously latent. Latest findings by researchers from the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg under the direction of Dr.-Ing. Andrea Klippel illuminate this in detail. Antenne Thuringia reports that intensive sunshine and light wind are able to transform smoldering fires into exterior surface fires.

The project called Treeads, in which a total of 47 partners from 14 countries are involved, aims to develop a system for prevention, detection and combating vegetation fires. Based on the EU research program Horizon 2020, a special focus is on the spread of soil fires, as the IDW-online . The collected data from the fire tests mentioned flow directly into the development of a comprehensive fire management system, which is not only important for national specialist committees, but also for fire brigades for practical training measures.

It is alarming to know that soil fires can continue unnoticed and release flue gases that are harmful to health, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen of cyan. These aspects are less well known, but their relevance increases with the increase in extreme weather conditions.

prevention by forest conversion

But how can you prevent forest fires? Here the forest conversion comes into play. The Forest knowledge illuminates some effective prevention measures to significantly reduce the risk of forest fires. This includes forest fire bars and protective strips, which help to prevent the spread of fire through special trees and through the care of the vegetation.

The forest fire bars, with a width of 100 to 300 meters, are of crucial importance. Overgrown with fire -retardant trees and shrubs, you can contain the spread of flames. Protective strips, which are often 20 to 30 meters wide, ensure that combustible materials are removed and dry trees are harvested to prevent the inflammation of the crown space by floor fire.

The importance of these measures becomes particularly clear when you look at the incidents of the past week in which firefighters in Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony were in use for up to several days to extinguish the fires. The combination of scientific research and good agricultural management can make a decisive contribution to protecting the forests in the region and minimizing the risk of fire.