Prescribed fire is a landscape management technique that uses fire in a controlled and planned way to achieve specific resource management and rural fire protection objectives. Just like a medical prescription, the use of prescribed fire is carefully planned and adjusted according to the needs and conditions of the ‘patient’ - the landscape.

A Medical Analogy

Imagine a prescribed fire technician as a doctor and the landscape as the patient. Just as a doctor examines a patient, the technician assesses the condition of the landscape, looking at factors such as the amount of fuel available (dry vegetation, for example), the weather and the topography. This process of analysis results in a diagnosis of the landscape's state of health.
Based on this diagnosis, the technician prescribes a detailed ‘treatment’ in an official document called the Prescribed Burning Plan (Plano de Fogo Controlado, in Portugal) - which works like a ‘doctor's prescription’. This plan specifies how the fire should be applied: the ideal conditions, the appropriate ‘doses’ (intensity, periodicity and repetition of the fire) and the appropriate period or season for the treatment. The aim is to apply fire in a way that benefits the landscape and its habitats, promoting the renewal of ecosystems and reducing the risk of fires.

Prescribed Fire as a Vaccine for the Landscape

Prescribed fire can be likened to a vaccine for the landscape. In an environment where the landscape's ‘immune system’ is weakened - due to depopulation, an ageing population, the loss of traditional uses and land occupation and an increase in the available fuel load - prescribed fire acts as a way of strengthening the landscape's resilience. Prescribed fire reduces the landscape's exposure to climate change risks and reduces the impact of fire damage, making the landscape more resilient.

Other Treatments and the Importance of Prescribed Fire

Although there are other methods of fuel management, such as bush shredding (manual or mechanical) and chemical treatments, prescribed fire is often favoured due to its efficiency and effectiveness on a large scale. However, the choice of the appropriate treatment depends on the specific conditions of the landscape, such as the amount and type of fuel, vulnerability to rural fires and other economic activities available in the territory.

An Ancient Tradition

Long before there were modern prescribed fire technicians, since the Neolithic, human beings have consciously used fire to manage resources and, consequently, the landscape. For generations, by observing the effects of fire, rural communities in Europe have understood the importance of using fire in the sustainable management of their resources and as a ‘healing’ tool for the landscape. These ancestral ‘healers’ - our shepherds - used fire to care for the land, a practice that is still reflected today in the prescribed fire technique.
In short, prescribed fire is a modern technique, but one rooted in ancestral practices, which seeks to protect and revitalise landscapes through the planned and responsible use of fire, promoting sustainable and adaptive management of ecosystems.

 

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