Since 1998 prescribed fires are used to manage the landscape in Catalonia. Prescribed Fire refers to the controlled application of fire by a team of fire experts under specific weather conditions. These experts are in Catalonia the Bombers GRAF team (Group of Support to Forest Actions) of the Firefighters of the Catalan Government. More than 2000 hectares have been managed with this tool since the GRAF was created. This, team is internationally recognized and some of their members have been invited to train other fire fighters (e.g. Scotland, France, Portugal and in others Autonomous Regions in Spain) in the use of prescribed fire as landscape management.
The prescribed fires program developed by the Bombers GRAF team had different objectives, as the elimination of fuel that can increase the severity of wildland fires, to facilitate the regeneration of particular plant species, conservation of biodiversity, improve habitat of mammals, promote recreational use and allow animal entry on grazed scrublands. Controlled burns can also serve as a valuable aid for training fire-fighting personnel.
This program is nowadays a reference in the world in the application of this technique and the team is training firefighters in order that the prescribed fires can be applied in other places.
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