THOR

Joint project

Infrastructural policies, facilities and study objects for forest fire prevention

Subproject 2

Development, improvement and implementation of preventive and aftercare strategies to protect forests against forest fires as well as target group-specific knowledge transfer for the implementation into practice

Project period

05/2020 - 04/2025

Project partner

Landesforst Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Project description

The importance of forest fire prevention and aftercare has been focused on increasingly by forestry and the public discussion since the forest fire at the military training area in Lübtheen. In Germany, forest fires are not among the natural disruptive events, instead nearly all forest fires are man-made events. The general risk of forest fires will increase due to changing framework conditions such as climate change and the threat posed by the ignition of explosive ordnance in forest areas in the coming years. In this context, both old and new strategies for the prevention and aftercare of forest fires as well as the associated knowledge transfer have to be reviewed and/or  identified. Only through these measures, the ecological, economic and social risk for forests and society can be minimised.

The THOR project, which runs from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2025, aims at developing, optimising and implementing prevention strategies for the protection of forests against forest fires. Furthermore, target group- specific knowledge transfer for the implementation into practice are to take place. In doing so, the following aspects will be focussed on:

forest fire prevention, 
forest fire aftercare, 
forest fire situation on ammunition-polluted areas, 
controlled burning for nature conservation and forest fire protection purposes and
knowledge transfer.

By evaluating existing measures and adapting them to the changing framework conditions, management strategies, training objects, guidelines and teaching materials will be developted for the aspects listed above and provide options for knowledge transfer and implementation into practice.

The success of this project strongly depends on the cooperation of all actors in forest fire protection. Therefore, the cooperation of forest offices, forest enterprises, fire brigades, the ammunition salvage service and other experts will be an essential aspect within the project.