IMPACT OF FOREST FIRES ON PORTUGUESE FOREST ECOSYSTEM AND ITS NATIONAL EMISSIONS BUDGET

Autor(s): Muha Abdullah Al Pavel, Mário Marques, Kamrun N Mukta
DOI: 10.59465/ijfr.2024.11.1.91-103

Abstract

The  study  highlights  the  significance  of   the  forestry  industry  in  Portugal,  and delves into the economic, social, and environmental ramifications of  forest fires on this vital sector. With a specialization in forest services, the country's healthy and sustained growth is heavily reliant on this sector. The study is a literature review analysis of  carbon sink-source relationships and related uncertainty in the Portuguese forest ecosystem. We found wide literature research that Portugal lost 4% of  its total tree cover due  to  forest  fires  in  2016-2017.  The  study  concludes  that  the  drought  and  forest  fires  suffered  by  the country throughout the years have had a considerable impact on the national emissions budget. Forest fires have  wielded  a  significant  impact  on  the  nation's  overall  carbon  emissions,  representing  10%  during  the years with the highest incidence and averaging 2.7% over 25 years. Prior to 2014, the country was making significant progress towards achieving its National Plan on Climate Change (PNAC) 2020 reduction target, with emissions projected to fall between 18-23% below 2005 levels. These factors are putting country in a non-compliance position with the PNAC 2020 commitment target (which is the same target as for the Kyoto Protocol 2nd Commitment Period).

Keywords

GHG emission, carbon flux, forest fires, climate mitigation and adaptation, and Mediterranean forest

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References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.59465/ijfr.2024.11.1.91-103

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