Analysis of Human-Caused Wildfire Occurrence and Land Use Changes in France, Spain and Portugal

n Southern European countries, where anthropogenic activity plays an important role in altering natural dynamics of ecosystems, wildfire is a dominant feature of the landscape. This paper explores the relationship between human caused fires and land use changes in France, Spain and Portugal. The Fisher exact test has been applied to examine the significance of this association at provincial level (NUTS level 3). The increase in urban use between 1990 and 2000 was found to be associated with the decrease of negligent fires in France and Spain. The preliminary regional view provided in this work can contribute to the understanding of main driving factors of biomass burning at continental and global scales.JRC.H.7-Land management and natural hazard