Dr. Michele Salis, a researcher from the National Research Council of Italy’s Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE), recently completed a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at the School of Agriculture (ISA), University of Lisbon, Portugal. This mission, funded under the COST Action NERO (CA22164), aimed to enhance his experience in real-time wildfire analysis through a fire-management-oriented approach.
From July 19 to July 28, 2024, Michele worked closely with the National Wildfire Decision Support Cell (NAD-AIR) of the National Authority of Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) of Portugal, under the scientific guidance of Dr. Akli Benali. During this period, he gained hands-on experience with the NAD-AIR platform (FEB Monitorização), a crucial tool for real-time wildfire monitoring and forecasting. The platform helps track wildfire danger, potential behavior, and weather conditions, providing essential data for strategic wildfire management.
Michele received extensive training from both ISA and ANEPC teams on using this advanced platform and preparing strategic wildfire analysis bulletins. He was actively involved in the analysis of two wildfire events that occurred during his visit, focusing particularly on the one at the Alcabideche-Cascais area. His work included mapping the main spatiotemporal fire progression, deriving key wildfire metrics (such as rate of spread and area burned), collecting environmental and operational data, and producing a comprehensive report on wildfire behavior and spread.
This STSM allowed Michele to immerse himself in the operational methodologies used in Portugal for wildfire monitoring and forecasting. The mission expanded his research horizons and strengthened his scientific and operational knowledge, skills, and networks. The experience was invaluable for Michele, whose background is primarily research-oriented, as it provided a practical perspective on civil protection and wildfire management.
Furthermore, this mission has paved the way for reinforcing scientific and operational collaboration between Sardinian/Italian and Portuguese institutions engaged in wildfire management. Michele plans to share and transfer the knowledge gained during his STSM to local stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers in Italy. This initiative is crucial in developing a more integrated approach at the EU or Southern EU level to tackle the increasing threat of large, fast-spreading wildfires exacerbated by climate change, land abandonment, and socio-economic changes.
Read the full report of Michele’s STSM here.
