Vol. 81 No. 1s (2026): Conference Proceedings: "Nature Restoration Law and Forests in Italy: An Opportunity for a Sustainable Future". November 25th, 2025
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Nature Restoration Law and fire risk mitigation in Natura 2000 areas: synergies and trade-offs at the landscape and stand scales

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  • Davide Ascoli,
  • Angelo Nolè,
  • Rachele Gamba,
  • Cinzia Passamani,
  • Roberta Berretti,
  • Enrico Marchi
Davide Ascoli
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari (DISAFA), Università degli Studi di Torino; l.go Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco (TO).
Angelo Nolè
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari e Ambientali (DAFE), Università degli Studi della Basilicata; via dell’Ateneo Lucano 10 - 85100 Potenza.
Rachele Gamba
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari (DISAFA), Università degli Studi di Torino; l.go Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco (TO).
Cinzia Passamani
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari (DISAFA), Università degli Studi di Torino; l.go Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco (TO).
Roberta Berretti
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari (DISAFA), Università degli Studi di Torino; l.go Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco (TO).
Enrico Marchi
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali (DAGRI), Università degli Studi di Firenze; via San Bonaventura 13 - 50145 Firenze.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1202

Published 2026-06-08

Keywords

  • Nature Restoration Law,
  • pyro silviculture,
  • wildland-urban interface,
  • resilience,
  • ecosystem services

How to Cite

Ascoli, D., Nolè, A., Gamba, R., Passamani, C., Berretti, R., & Marchi, E. (2026). Nature Restoration Law and fire risk mitigation in Natura 2000 areas: synergies and trade-offs at the landscape and stand scales. L’Italia Forestale E Montana, 81(1s), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1202

Copyright (c) 2026 Davide Ascoli, Angelo Nolè, Rachele Gamba, Cinzia Passamani, Roberta Berretti, Enrico Marchi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Changes in fire regimes across Europe are increasing the exposure of the Natura 2000 network to fire disturbance, with potential repercussions for the conservation and restoration of habitats and species of Community interest. Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 (Nature Restoration Law, NRL) introduces binding restoration targets and explicitly highlights the need to strengthen ecosystem resilience to 'natural disasters'. For forests, it includes the obligation to plan measures while 'taking into account the risks of forest fires'. This paper analyzes the synergies and potential conflicts between restoration/conservation goals and fire risk mitigation strategies in Natura 2000 areas, proposing a dual-scale analysis: (i) landscape/territorial scale; (ii) stand/preventive infrastructure scale. At the landscape scale, through the placement of infrastructure capable of reducing the probability that fire disturbance assumes characteristics of frequency, seasonality and severity incompatible with the sensitivity to fire of habitats and other objectives (e.g. urban-rural interface). At the stand/preventive infrastructure scale, the design of interventions must reconcile the functional requirements of forest fire-fighting with the achievement of the objectives set by the NRL. This work highlights how the NRL provides a favorable regulatory framework for “fire-smart” strategies for the reduction of fire hazard and for the conservation of Natura 2000 habitats based on a site-specific approach.

PDF (Italiano)

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