Also this year, the news picture has been marked by forest fires. On Saturday, 3,000 goals burned in Nissedal. The weekend before, two forest fires broke out in Kautokeino. But is forest fire only negative? No, says biologist at Biofokus Sigve Reiso. On the contrary, he wants more forest fires in this country. A large area burned in Nissedal this weekend. Photo: The forest fire helicopter Species disappear Many species depend on forest fires to survive. According to biologist Reiso, the lack of forest fires is listed as a reason why at least 87 species are now red-listed. It can also have consequences upwards in the food chains. Adviser to the State Administrator in Vestfold and Telemark, Sigurd Anders Svalestad, confirms that fewer forest fires have consequences for diversity. – We have become so good at preventing forest fires from occurring that the species that are actually dependent on forest fires have now almost disappeared from the country. The list includes beetles, plants, lichens, fungi and wasps. Fire stump sawdust on old coal on a dead pine tree after a forest fire. According to biologist Sigve Reiso, this is a fire trail on a pine tree that probably sprouted sometime in the 16th and 16th centuries. Photo: Sigve Reiso Although some animals have to pay with their lives during a forest fire, a forest fire in itself rarely makes critical inroads into species populations, Svalestad believes. – Does that mean that it is almost more threatening to some animal and insect lives that there is no forest fire than that it actually is? – Yes, in fact that is what it is, when we talk about the diversity of species and not about exactly the individuals who are affected by this particular fire. Poor conditions for many species Some of the species that depend on forest fires to survive need fresh fires. Other species are dependent on the forest burning a long time ago, Reiso explains. The sooty beetle is one of the species that needs fresh fires to survive. At this time of year, it flies around looking for fire. It can smell a smoke molecule many kilometers away, and navigates by the smell. Under the belly it has infrared sensors. They make sure the beetle lands there is not too hot. Soot splendor beetle is a very rare. According to Reiso, it has only been found in two places in Eastern Norway after 1980, in Råde in Østfold and in Notodden, Telemark. It is completely black, which gives good camouflage in charred areas. The beetle lives in fire-damaged areas for a few years, until it turns green again in the area. Then it must move on to new, burnt territories. Photo: Kim Abel / Naturarkivet.no The sooty beetle is now on the red list. – If you are an insect that flies around and is looking for a forest fire in Norway, then you have had quite lean years in the last hundred years, says Reiso. Why does it burn less than before? There are several reasons why forest fires are not allowed to unfold in the same way as they did centuries ago. The proliferation of buildings, infrastructure and greater economic interest in timber are some of them. – When we constantly reduce nature, these natural processes no longer fit. There is always a road nearby, there is always a cabin. There is always something that can be destroyed. Then we paint ourselves into a corner, because forest fires can no longer be allowed to continue naturally. Proposes more measures Reiso believes that other Nordic countries have come further than Norway in how they relate to forest fires. Sweden and Finland regularly carry out controlled forest fires, often in reserves. The goal is precisely to maintain the species and forest systems that are dependent on fire. He believes this should also be done in Norway. Senior adviser in the Norwegian Environment Agency, Gunnar Kjærstad, largely agrees with Reiso that more planned fires may be an alternative in the future. Something’s going on already. Among other things, the Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency regularly carries out controlled burning of coastal heath to safeguard the diversity of species, according to Kjærstad. Controlled burning of coastal heath in Ytre Hvaler National Park. Fire is crucial to take care of the species diversity in coastal heath. Photo: Statens naturoppsyn / Miljødirektoratet – It may in the long run be relevant with controlled nature conservation burns as they do in Sweden, but this is not something we have done so far. More opportunities Reiso believes there are several measures to prevent endangered species from becoming extinct. One may be that already burned area should be left alone to a greater extent than today. Thus, nature can go its own way, instead of machines rolling in and cleaning up. To achieve this, it is an alternative that the authorities compensate landowners for leaving burnt areas in peace, Reiso suggests. The Norwegian Environment Agency also believes that there is something to be gained in areas that have already burned. They want offers of voluntary protection when it comes to larger forest areas. This pine with old fire tracks stands in an old forest on Notodden. Biologist Sigve Reiso believes the fire that left its mark on the tree may have ravaged as early as the 18th century. Photo: Sigve Reiso The Ministry of Agriculture refers to the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomics for statements in this case. Senior researcher Jørund Rolstad confirms that forest fires are a natural process of renewal of the forest, and that there are a good number of species that use burned forests as a habitat. – It is also true that nature conservation incineration is carried out routinely in Sweden and Finland as part of the conservation of biological diversity. In Norway, we are a little behind, but the environmental protection authorities have begun planning voluntary protected areas to be burned.
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Many species depend on fire to survive – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
