Program for Postfire Monitoring and Control in the Forest Ecosystems of

The complexity of factors involved in a forest fire, such as the fire regime, the time of year in which the fire occurs in relation to the phase of the yearly development of the existing vegetation, the type of vegetation, its ability to adapt to fire conditions, its germinative characteristics, the post-fire weather conditions and even the microclimatic effects resulting from differences in aspect, makes it impossible to predict with absolute certainty the response ability of vegetation after a fire has occurred. Monitoring the post-fire evolution of forest systems affected by large fires helps fire management specialists to establish the most appropriate action for restoring the burned areas. The Forest Fires Monitoring Program for the Murcia Region, presented herein, has implemented the study of the effects of two large fires on the region’s forest ecosystems, namely Calasparra in 1991, which affected 800 ha, and Moratella in 1994, where 24,000 ha were affected, 65 % of which were wooded area. Although the evolution of forest systems depends a great deal on the ecological conditions and the type of management implemented, the structure and constitution of the existing new population—that is, the regeneration—is one of the most decisive aspects. Using territorial information regarding land use, vegetation, relief, edaphology, etc., and basing data primarily on the 1999 National Forestry Inventory conducted in the Region of Murcia, the Program divides the territory into zones according to their current state of regeneration and examines the main indicators of the state of these areas. With the results obtained, the process can be characterized appropriately and used to plan measures aimed at restoration, conservation, and improvement of the vegetation cover, as well as other important measures to diminish erosion, such as stabilizing slopes and correcting torrential flow through hydraulic engineering, and protective measures against the risk of forest fires and the phytosanitary damages that inevitably result from a fire