Professor Vladimir Chub, director of the Botanical Garden at Moscow State University, pointed out that the forests that burned in Europe most likely consisted of trees of similar age, which contributed to the burning of a large area in a uniform manner.
To prevent large-scale fires, the professor emphasizes the importance of planting patterns. Specifically, younger trees, which burn more easily, should be planted alongside older trees, as fire spreads less easily through them.
He says: “For the past four hundred years, forestry has been practiced in Europe, where forests are planted artificially, because they lack natural forests. But if an area is planted all at once, it becomes vulnerable to complete burning if dead wood is not regularly removed and other fire prevention measures are not taken. This forest can be likened to a gas station, where dry material accumulates and then ignites and destroys everything. The frequent fires in Europe can be explained not only by the unusual combination of heat and drought this summer, but also by the fact that vast areas in these countries are planted with trees of uniform age.”
The scientist points out that periodic local forest fires are a natural phenomenon, and even necessary, because they help the forest get rid of accumulated biomass.
He says: “When small fires are constantly being extinguished, they eventually turn into a massive fire. This is what happened in 1988 in Yellowstone National Park in the United States, where a fire destroyed 36 percent of its area. The basic condition for this emergency was a strict directive to extinguish all emerging local fires. As a result, huge amounts of dry biomass accumulated in many areas of the forest. The workers could no longer control the situation, and a large-scale fire broke out. It was impossible to stop it by any means.”
