Forest fires under climate, social and economical changes in Europe, the Mediterranean and other fire-affected areas of the world (FUME)

Fume is an EU7th Framework Programme funded project that aims at documenting and evaluating which changes in the land or in other factors occurred in the last decades that affected forest fires in Europe and other fire-affected areas of the world. By understanding of the causes underlying past changes in fire regime and with projections of future (XXI century, several time-slices) climate and other socioeconomic factors that could affect fire, projections of the likely impacts on the vegetation and landscapes and on fire regime will be made. A particular focus will be devoted to extreme weather and climate phenomena, such as drought and heat waves, due to their great impact on fires. A revision of current protocols and procedures for fire prevention, fire-fighting and the management of fire-prone areas will be made to evaluate adaptive options to cope with changed fire regime. That includes an evaluation of economic costs and of policies at the European level. Linkage between research and stakeholders will be insured by means of training and other knowledge-transfer activities.