Description and objectives

The CriticalFires project investigates the interactions between wildfires and the properties of the critical zone, focusing on both how fires cause environmental degradation—by altering the soil–water–vegetation system—and how these changes may increase the risk of future fires.

The project follows a multidisciplinary approach, combining field surveys, laboratory analyses, and data modeling. Research will concentrate on one or two small Mediterranean coastal and/or mountain catchments, each containing at least two areas with similar soil and geological characteristics but different fire histories: one recently burned and one unburned for more than 20 years. Sampling and analyses will be carried out in both types of areas to quantify differences in soil, vegetation, hydrology, and carbon cycling.

The selection of study sites will be completed in the first month, in close collaboration with partners from the RETURN project to ensure relevance. All collected data and results will be made available through an open access information system.