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The present study analyzes the effects of different socioeconomic factors on the frequency of fire ignition occurrence, according to different original causes. The data include a set of documented ignition points in the region of Catalonia for the period 1995–2008. The analysis focused on the spatial aggregation patterns of the ignitions for each specific ignition cause. The point‐based data on ignitions were interpolated into municipality‐level information using kernel methods as the basis for defining five ignition density levels. Afterwards, the combination of socioeconomic factors influencing the ignition density levels of the municipalities was analyzed for each documented cause of ignition using a principal component analysis. The obtained results confirmed the idea that both the spatial aggregation patterns of fire ignitions and the factors defining their occurrence were specific for each of the causes of ignition. Intentional fires and those of unknown origin were found to have similar spatial aggregation patterns, and the presence of high ignition density areas was related to high population and high unemployment rates. Additionally, it was found that fires originated from forest work, agricultural activities, pasture burning, and lightning had a very specific behavior on their own, differing from the similarities found on the spatial aggregation of ignitions originated from smokers, electric lines, machinery, campfires, and those of intentional or unknown origin.

The present study analyzes the effects of different socioeconomic factors on the frequency of fire ignition occurrence, according to different original causes. The data include a set of documented ignition points in the region of Catalonia for the period 1995–2008. The analysis focused on the spatial aggregation patterns of the ignitions for each specific ignition cause. The point‐based data on ignitions were interpolated into municipality‐level information using kernel methods as the basis for defining five ignition density levels. Afterwards, the combination of socioeconomic factors influencing the ignition density levels of the municipalities was analyzed for each documented cause of ignition using a principal component analysis. The obtained results confirmed the idea that both the spatial aggregation patterns of fire ignitions and the factors defining their occurrence were specific for each of the causes of ignition. Intentional fires and those of unknown origin were found to have similar spatial aggregation patterns, and the presence of high ignition density areas was related to high population and high unemployment rates. Additionally, it was found that fires originated from forest work, agricultural activities, pasture burning, and lightning had a very specific behavior on their own, differing from the similarities found on the spatial aggregation of ignitions originated from smokers, electric lines, machinery, campfires, and those of intentional or unknown origin. ; The present study was the result of a request from the Fire Prevention Service of the Catalan Government. The authors thank the Ramon y Cajal program from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education for supporting the work of Dr. González‐Olabarria and Dr. Coll.

Campaigns by environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) can have far reaching consequences in determining the policies of governments and corporations. This paper examines campaigns targeting forestry companies to determine what makes a successful campaign. Over forty ENGOs completed a questionnaire defining what they perceive to constitute a successful campaign. The responses were analysed using Analytical Hierarchy Process. The results showed that campaigns by ENGOs have two main targets: changes in laws and the target group implementing the campaign's recommendation(s). Achieving these targets, for most, constitute a successful campaign. Subsequently, representatives of seven ENGOs were questioned to attain their perspectives of the results in comparison to campaigns they are conducting against forest enterprises. They supported the results of the questionnaire, but also felt that there are various other factors that need to be considered (e.g. the campaign's timeframe and the possibility of having hidden targets) that increase the issue's complexity. ; Campañas llevadas a cabo por organizaciones no gubernamentales ambientalistas (ONGsA) pueden tener importantes consecuencias a la hora de influenciar las políticas tanto de gobiernos como de corporaciones industriales. Este artículo se centra en el estudio de campañas cuyo blanco son las empresas madereras, analizando que condiciones deben cumplir dichas campañas para poder ser consideradas como exitosas. Para ello, más de cuarenta ONGsA rellenaron un cuestionario en el que se les pedía que indicaran su opinión sobre que define una campaña exitosa. Las respuestas fueron analizadas utilizando un Proceso Analítico Jerárquico (AHP). Los resultados mostraron que las campañas de las ONGsA tienen dos objetivos principales, obtener cambios en las leyes y que la compañía o gobierno objetivo de la campaña cumpla las recomendaciones propuestas. A posteriori, los representantes de siete ONGsA, con campañas ambientales en curso contra empresas madereras, fueron preguntados sobre si los resultados obtenidos a través del análisis AHP estaban en concordancia con las perspectivas para sus campañas ambientales. Como resultado, se obtuvo que si bien sus perspectivas coincidían con los resultados del análisis, existen otros factores a tener en cuenta (por ejemplo el marco temporal de la campaña y la posibilidad de afectar objetivos no explícitamente señalados) que aumentan la complejidad del problema.

Ecological processes within forests provide vital ecosystem services to society, most of which depend on the persistence of tree cover that can be altered after the impact of a disturbance. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of seed dispersal and resprouting that mediate resilience to large fires and evaluate the economic costs that these ecological functions provide. We used field data from 412 plots of the Spanish National Forest Inventory providing information on pre- and post-fire conditions of Mediterranean Pinus spp. and Quercus spp.-dominated forests. Then, we determined the need for restoration (N Rest) and estimated the minimum pre-fire densities needed to ensure adequate post-fire cover. Economic valuations were assessed through three different scenarios (Sc) of possible human-management actions aimed at ensuring proper post-fire tree cover: Sc. 1) a pre-fire management scenario evaluating the costs of planting Quercus spp. seedlings in the understory, mimicking the whole dispersal function; Sc. 2) a pre-fire scenario in which enrichment plantations increased the densities of natural oaks; and Sc. 3) a post-fire scenario where the restoration is done through planting pines within the burned area. Approximately 90% of the burned area (371 out of 412 plots) was able to recover after fire supporting the view that Mediterranean forests are resilient to fire. This resilience was primarily mediated by biotic seed dispersal and posterior resprouting of tree species. These ecological functions saved between 626 and 1,326 €/ha compared to the human-management actions. Ensuring key ecological processes within forests increases forest resilience and recovery after fire leading to a generally significant saving of economic resources. In a perspective of increased future impact of disturbances and decrease availability of economic resources for forest management, the implications of the present study can be far reaching and extended to other forest planning exercises. ; This research was primarily supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation via CGL2008-05506-C02-01/BOS project and the Consolider-Ingenio Montes project (CSD2008-00040); a Ramon y Cajal contract to LB and LC; and a Juan de la Cierva contract to JRG. CPP was partially supported by a Fundacion Caja Madrid grant. Partial funding was also provided by the Catalan Government grant SGR2009-531.

In the climate change era, forest managers are challenged to use innovative tools to encourage a sustained provision of goods and services. Many decision support tools (DSTs), developed to address global changes in forest management practices, reflect the complexity of the scientific knowledge produced, a fact that could make it difficult for practitioners to understand and adopt them. Acknowledging the importance of knowledge transfer to forestry practitioners, this study describes a user-centric decision support software tool, aiming to assess forest management and climate change impacts on multiple ecosystem services (ESs) at a stand level. SORTIE-ND, a spatially explicit tree-level simulator for projecting stand dynamics that is sensitive to climate change, is encapsulated into the decision support tool and used as the simulation engine for stand development. Linking functions are implemented to evaluate ecosystem services and potential risks, and decision support is provided in form of interactive 2D and 3D visualizations. Five main components were identified to delineate the workflow and to shape the decision support tool: the information base, the alternative generator, the forest simulator, the ecosystem services calculator, and the visualization component. In order to improve the interaction design and general user satisfaction, the usability of the system was tested at an early stage of the development. While we have specifically focused on a management-oriented approach through user-centric interface design, the utilization of the product is likely to be of importance in facilitating education in the field of forest management. ; CTFC authors acknowledge funding from MINECO (Ref. RYC-2011-08983, RYC-2013-14262, AGL2015-67293-R MINECO/FEDER) and from CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. This research has also received funding from the European Union's H2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 691149 (SuFoRun) and from the ERA-NET cofund 'ForestValue – Innovating the forest-based bioeconomy' project title "Novel business models and mechanisms for the sustainable supply of and payment for forest ecosystem services" funded in the framework of the (NOBEL). A.A. was funded by MINECO with a JdC-I grant (IJCI-2016-30049).