Forest Fires, Stakeholders’ Activities, and Economic Impact on State-Level Sustainable Forest Management

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Reviewer’s Comment

General Comments

This is an interesting topic in the “Forest Fires, Stakeholders’ Activities and Economic Impact on State Level Sustainable Forest Management”. The flow and readability are good. However, there are some major corrections to be made. Below are some specific comments.

Abstract: Your abstract was very confusing to me. I could not figure out whether it was an original article or a review article until I read the introduction section. First, I suggest that you reduce the length of your abstract. 445 words is too much for an abstract. Please, reduce it to a maximum of 200 words. I suggest you read the guide for authors once again. I would also suggest that you should be clear in your flow for easy comprehension. You can use the following flow.

1.      Introduction- what is the topic?

2.      The problem statement(s)

3.      Briefly include why other studies/researchers have not tackled this problem.

4.      How has the problem been tackled/Methodology?

5.      The major impact of the research study/review.

Your introduction section is clear and understandable.

Materials and methods: In my opinion, this section is also good and well-structured.

Conclusion: The first sentence in your conclusion section, “The analysis showed that the Republic of Croatia has a well-prepared legislative framework”. I was wondering what you mean. Do you mean you did not know that the Republic of Croatia has a well-prepared legislative framework and you wanted to find out on their behalf? I do not understand what your conclusions are about your review. I suggest you revise your conclusion section. It does not have to be too long. Just go straight to the point. Include the summary of your main points, restate your thesis, and give some implicit outcome of your study and/or recommendations based on your analysis.

Pg 19, Line 699; Change …is investing significant sources in… to …is investing significant resources in…

The quality of English Language is good.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/in track changes in the re-submitted files. 

Comment: Abstract: Please, reduce it to a maximum of 200 words. I suggest you read the guide for authors once again. I would also suggest that you should be clear in your flow for easy comprehension.

Response: Thank you for pointing this out. We agree and we have used reviewer recommandation for the following flow:

1. Introduction- what is the topic? Response: In Europe, forest fires are a serious, constant threat that destroy forests and forest land, causing damage, financial loss, and long-lasting impacts on forest ecosystem services.

2. The problem statement(s) Response: There are several ways to decrease the number of forest fires which include continuous investments in fire pre-vention measures, and intensive implementation of adaptive sustainable forest management measures, which need additional financial resources.

3. Briefly include why other studies/researchers have not tackled this problem. Response: In many cases, forest management activities in karst forests are not implemented in a timely manner and in coordination with other stake-holders. A comprehensive study about the economic impact of forest fires on different economic activities (tourism, protected areas) is not available.

4. How has the problem been tackled/Methodology? Response: The legislative framework was analysed in relation to fire protection activities and jurisdictions of different institutions. From collected data in the period 2013–2020, assessment of first age class afforestation costs, growing stock assort-ments value, and estimation of non-wood forest functions were calculated. Aforementioned data was further compared to fire weather index (FWI) and season severity rating (SSR) of fire seasons.

5. The major impact of the research study/review. Response: The total estimated damage is 326,810,724.72 EUR. The research emphasises the need for im-plementation of cross sectoral forest policy measures. The state forest company should allocate more financial resources for biological forest restoration in the future. Forest management practice should implement climate adaptable silviculture measures to preserve forest and forest land.

Response: Thank you for your valuable comments. The abstract has been changed and improved according to the guide for the authors and consists 213 words.

Comment: Your introduction section is clear and understandable.

Response: Thank you for your comment.

Comment: Materials and methods: In my opinion, this section is also good and well-structured.

Response: Thank you for your comment.

Comment: Conclusion: The first sentence in your conclusion section, “The analysis showed that the Republic of Croatia has a well-prepared legislative framework”. I was wondering what you mean. Do you mean you did not know that the Republic of Croatia has a well-prepared legislative framework and you wanted to find out on their behalf? I do not understand what your conclusions are about your review. I suggest you revise your conclusion section. It does not have to be too long. Just go straight to the point. Include the summary of your main points, restate your thesis, and give some implicit outcome of your study and/or recommendations based on your analysis.

Response: The conclusion chapter has been changed according to the reviewer comment.

The paper analysed the current forest policy framework in relation to determining, providing, valorising and protecting forests and their services. In line with the research aims:

1. a) According to the definition of fire protection measures and activities, 29 fire related laws and their bylaws were identified and reviewed. The role and obligation of different stakeholders were analysed, with emphasis on Croatian Forests Ltd. and Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ). The laws are grouped ac-cording to the main regulation area: sustainable development, environmental protec-tion, nature protection, biodiversity conservation, protected areas, fire protection, waste management, forestry, agriculture and other related laws.
2. b) The analysis shows the characteristics of different stakeholders and their obli-gation for the implementation of special fire protection measures, such as Croatian Fire Association, Ministry of Defence, County Fire Associations, Regional civil protection offices, Public institutions of national parks, Public institutions of nature parks, Public institutions for management with protected areas, Regional civil protection offices, Croatian Tourist Board, Ministry of Tourism.
3. c) The economic impact of forest fires on state forest company management was calculated. In the period from 2013 to 2022, there were a total of 1 271 fires on forest and other land owned by the Republic of Croatia. A total of 100 168 ha was burned. Calculated damage on the first age class was 8,724,581.9 EUR, growing stock 20,979,957.53 EUR, and 297,106,185.29 EUR on non-wood forest functions for the state forest company. Company is investing significant resources in the fight against ad-verse weather conditions, which requires additional operating costs. In the year 2020, the forest fire damage exceeded 176 mil. EUR.
4. d) Weather conditions have been analysed in more detail for fire seasons with the highest and lowest season severity rating (SSR) values in the considered period. In al-most all of Croatia, the SSR values for 2017 were above 1.5–2 times the multi-year av-erage of 1981–2010. because the air temperatures were above average by 3–4 °C, and the precipitation amount below average (2–31% of average in the mid-Adriatic) in the summer months. Contrary to that, the SSR values in 2014 were not higher than 5 and were below average throughout the country due to a very rainy summer. The analyses of correlation among the forest fire damages spent sources for fire protection show that there is no significant benefit if only the state forest company invests in fire pro-tection.

Unfortunately, there has not been any recent study about the negative impact of forest fires in tourism and other sectors. Because of different databases among different in-stitutions, the research limitations are unavailability of relevant, timely, comprehen-sive and unified forest fire damages costs. Research recommendations are to include all of the stakeholders on regional and local levels from the very beginning for imple-mentation of fire protection measures. The state forest company should implement fire risk assessment through the forest management activities, reduce the fuel mass in for-est stands, and in relation to that to decrease forest fire potential. The Government should adopt climate smart forestry through the relevant ministries, which will em-brace and put in place a set of new EU strategies and action plans in order to ensure sustainable forest ecosystems.

Comment: Pg 19, Line 699; Change …is investing significant sources in… to …is investing significant resources in…

Response: the line 699 has changed.

Reviewer 2 Report

This manuscript is well handled. The language of the manuscript is clear and fluent. I would like to see the north arrow and scale bar on all maps in your article.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the corrections in the re-submitted file.

Comment: This manuscript is well handled. The language of the manuscript is clear and fluent. I would like to see the north arrow and scale bar on all maps in your article.

Response: The north arrows and scale bars are added on all maps.

Reviewer 3 Report

Technically the manuscript is sound and I find novelty in the work. However, background of the paper i.e., introduction can be improved i.e., no specific objectives is clearly mentioned, and your research questions also. Results are discretely presented but I find the discussion section is weak. You need to discuss more logically supporting your findings referring more with earlier works. Conclusion needs to more strong based on your won observations and logical including the implication of your works, limitations and recommendations. Overall a novel word and a good read.,

Please see the comments in the manuscript itself given as sticky notes.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the corrections in the re-submitted file.

Comment: Technically the manuscript is sound and I find novelty in the work. However, background of the paper i.e., introduction can be improved i.e., no specific objectives is clearly mentioned, and your research questions also.

Response: We have improved introduction chapter as folows:

The aim of the paper is using content analysis to review existing legislative frameworks related to the financing of forest fire-protection activities, jurisdictions of decision makers in Croatia. Based on the data about the number of forest fires and total burnt areas in the period 2013–2020 damage assessment to first age class, growing stock, and non-wood forest functions for the state forest company were calculated.

The purpose of this research is therefore: a) to identify policy regulating areas regard-ing the forest fire protection stakeholders, with the review of the Forest Law and other related laws which define fire protection measures and activities. b) to explore the characteristics and obligations of different stakeholders which are prescribed in the im-plementation of special fire protection measures. c) to calculate damages and economic impact of forest fires on state forest company management. d) to compare extreme weather conditions and potential meteorological risk of forest fire using fire weather index (FWI) and season severity rating (SSR) of fire seasons in the period 2013–2020 with forest fires.

Comment: Results are discretely presented but I find the discussion section is weak. You need to discuss more logically supporting your findings referring more with earlier works.

Response: Thank you for pointing this out. We have changed discussion chapter according to the recommendations. Please find in attach revised chapter.

Comment: Conclusion needs to more strong based on your won observations and logical including the implication of your works, limitations and recommendations.

Response: We fully agree with this comment. The paper analysed the current forest policy framework in relation to determining, providing, valorising and protecting forests and their services. according to that the conclusions are changed in line with the research aims.

General comment: Please see the comments in the manuscript itself given as sticky notes.

Comment 1: In introduction line 49: „The current forest fire management policies are mainly focused on suppression“…

Response: the sentence has changed in fire suppression…

Comment 2: Introduction in line 60, reference MEA 2005

Response: Than you. The reference has added: Reid, W.V.; Mooney, H.A.; Cropper, A.; Capistrano, D.; Carpenter, S.R.; Chopra, K.; Dasgupta, P.; Dietz, T.; Duraiappah, A.K.; Kasperson, R.; et al. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report. 2005. Available online: http://pdf.wri.org/mea_synthesis_030105.pdf (accessed on 14 April 2023)

Comment 3: In introduction line 152 .

Thank you for the comment. We have added the specific research objectives sentence in introduction chapter: The purpose of this research is therefore: a) to identify policy regulating areas regard-ing the forest fire protection stakeholders, with the review of the Forest Law and other related laws which define fire protection measures and activities. b) to explore the characteristics and obligations of different stakeholders which are prescribed in the im-plementation of special fire protection measures. c) to calculate damages and economic impact of forest fires on state forest company management. d) to compare extreme weather conditions and potential meteorological risk of forest fire using fire weather index (FWI) and season severity rating (SSR) of fire seasons in the period 2013–2020 with forest fires.

Comment 4: Possible need for the supplementary materials.

We found that there is no need for the additional supplementary files related to the specific laws. In subchapter 2.2.1. the main laws: The Forest Law [37], the Fire Protection Law [38], the Fire Fighting Law [39], and the Law on agricultural land [40] are more explained in subchapter 3.1. after table 2. These laws are analysed through the main articles related to the forest fire protection.

Comment 5: Definition of the non-wood forest functions

Response: In line 375 the non-wood forest functions are defined by the Forest Law and elaborated in subchapter 2.2.1. line 260.

Comment 6: Estimation of Green tax fund.

Response: The amount of collected sources  from Green tax are added according to the last financial report from the Ministry of Agriculture. For that purpose annualy is collected abot 22 mil. EUR, which are distributed according to the regulation to the fire fighters, demining, private forest owners, and state forest company.

Comment 7: in line 409: Please explain the specific measures in The Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.

Response: Thank you for pointing this out. We have added the specific fire protection measures. The Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure is responsible for firefighting activities and plans (number of aircraft, equipment, use of drones and drones). The forementioned Ministry determine the conditions and manner of use of vessels, equipment and techniques, transportation plan. Croatian Railways companies, private carriers and the same in the field of railway transport are obliged to plan and implement fire protection measures, with special attention during the fire season. The most of the measures consists cleaning roads from the side vegetation and illegal waste disposals, and cleaning shrub and vegetation below the electricity transsmision lines as reducing potential fire risk.

Comment 8, in line 720: Implication of work and reccomandations

Thank you for your comment. We have added implication of work and reccomandations in conlusion chapter, as well as study limitations.

Response: Unfortunately, there has not been any recent study about the negative impact of forest fires in tourism and other sectors. Due to the different databases among different institutions, the research limitations are inavailability of relevant, timely, comprehensive and unified forest fire damages costs. Research recommandations are to include all of the stakeholders on regional and local levels from the very beginning for implementation of fire protection measures. State forest company should through the forest management activities implement fire risk assessment, reduce the fuel mass in forest stands, and in relation with that to decrease forest fire potential. Government through the relevant ministries should adapt climate smart forestry which will embrace and put in place set of new EU strategies and action plans in order to ensure sustainable forest ecosystems.

Reviewer 4 Report

Mega fires are increasing every year, especially in the Mediterranean Basin, due to global climate change. With this study, an important approach has been made on the economic consequences of fires. An evaluation of the situation in Turkey and Greece, which have suffered mega fires in the last 2 years, could further improve the quality of the study.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the corrections in the re-submitted file.

Comment: Mega fires are increasing every year, especially in the Mediterranean Basin, due to global climate change. With this study, an important approach has been made on the economic consequences of fires. An evaluation of the situation in Turkey and Greece, which have suffered mega fires in the last 2 years, could further improve the quality of the study.

Thank you for your comment. We have found more data about the recent fires in Mediterranean basin.

Response: The Mediterranean region experienced a heatwave in July to August 2021, with record-breaking temperatures in Italy and Spain in some areas. The widespread dry conditions were conducive to numerous wildfires, in particular in Italy, Greece and Turkey, while fires of about 7,500 ha and 65,000 ha occurred in Portugal and France. The total burnt area in the Mediterranean region in July and August exceeded 800,000 ha. Summer 2021 was the  warmest on record for Europe , with slightly higher temperatures than the previous warmest summers of 2010 and 2018 (San Miguel Ayanz, 2022). According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the area burned in Greece so far in 2023 has surpassed that of the  destructive 2021 fire season. Several wildfires have affected Greece since 19 August, in particular near Alexandroupolis-Feres and Rodopi, the total burnt area of currently active fires in all regions exceeds 62,000 hectares.

Reviewer 5 Report

Dear Authors,

In line with the proofreading criteria of the publisher, I prepared a review  report, which would be as follows:

According my evaluation, the content of the proposed review paper mostly meets the objectives set out in the authors guide of the journal.

In addition to acknowledging the high-quality research work, I propose the following corrections:

It is generally recommended for the entire article to divide long paragraphs into several parts according to their content, which enables better transparency of the content of the article.

Abstract: I recommend authors to revise the abstract, because - in its present form - it is too general and long (more than 200 word). Specify the applied working methodology and add results and conclusions more punctually related to the scientific problem of the study. It is also recommended to make concrete the benefits of the article. Descriptive parts of the abstract can be moved to the introduction section.

1. Introduction. I found excellent information on the European and Croatian forest fire protection’s situation in the introduction section, but the main objectives of the research are not precisely defined at the end of the introduction chapter.

I would also recommend to highlight what research conclusions can be expected based on the research situation revealed in the literature review.

2. Materials and Methods. The chapter provides an excellent overview of the methodology to be used for the purposes of present research work.

3. Results. It is recommended to briefly summarize what is discussed in the section in form of a short introduction at the beginning of the chapter.

4. Discussion. It is also recommended to divide this section into several subsections according to the main directions of the research work outlined in section 2.2.

5. Conclusions. It should be recommended to add some paragraphs, which should contains the suggestions for future research areas.

It is also recommended that the authors make suggestions based on national experiences that could be applied by other governments with similar problems in the European or international scale.

The references used in the review are relevant and assist the reader to understand the authors objectives.

The lines 905-915 can be deleted.

 Based on the above, after revision, I suggest publishing the reviewed article.

Minor editing of English language required

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/in track changes in the re-submitted files. 

Comment: It is generally recommended for the entire article to divide long paragraphs into several parts according to their content, which enables better transparency of the content of the article.

Response: Thank you for pointing this out. We were not able to divide article into more subchapters, but according to the other reviewers reccomandation, we have improved the chapters and make article more transparent.

Comment: Abstract: I recommend authors to revise the abstract, because - in its present form - it is too general and long (more than 200 word). Specify the applied working methodology and add results and conclusions more punctually related to the scientific problem of the study. It is also recommended to make concrete the benefits of the article. Descriptive parts of the abstract can be moved to the introduction section.

Response: Thank you for your valuable comments. The abstract has been changed and improved according to the guide for the authors and consists 213 words.

In Europe, forest fires are a serious, constant threat that destroy forests and forest land, causing damage, financial loss, and long-lasting impacts on forest ecosystem services. There are several ways to decrease the number of forest fires which include continuous investments in fire pre-vention measures, and intensive implementation of adaptive sustainable forest management measures, which need additional financial resources. In many cases, forest management activities in karst forests are not implemented in a timely manner and in coordination with other stake-holders. A comprehensive study about the economic impact of forest fires on different economic activities (tourism, protected areas) is not available. The legislative framework was analysed in relation to fire protection activities and jurisdictions of different institutions. From collected data in the period 2013–2020, assessment of first age class afforestation costs, growing stock assort-ments value, and estimation of non-wood forest functions were calculated. Aforementioned data was further compared to fire weather index (FWI) and season severity rating (SSR) of fire seasons. The total estimated damage is 326,810,724.72 EUR. The research emphasises the need for im-plementation of cross sectoral forest policy measures. The state forest company should allocate more financial resources for biological forest restoration in the future. Forest management practice should implement climate adaptable silviculture measures to preserve forest and forest land.

Comment: Introduction. I found excellent information on the European and Croatian forest fire protection’s situation in the introduction section, but the main objectives of the research are not precisely defined at the end of the introduction chapter.

Response: Thank you for the comment. The main objectives of the research are included in the introduction chapter.

The purpose of this research is therefore: a) to identify policy regulating areas regard-ing the forest fire protection stakeholders, with the review of the Forest Law and other related laws which define fire protection measures and activities. b) to explore the characteristics and obligations of different stakeholders which are prescribed in the im-plementation of special fire protection measures. c) to calculate damages and economic impact of forest fires on state forest company management. d) to compare extreme weather conditions and potential meteorological risk of forest fire using fire weather index (FWI) and season severity rating (SSR) of fire seasons in the period 2013–2020 with forest fires.

Comment: 2. Materials and Methods. The chapter provides an excellent overview of the methodology to be used for the purposes of present research work.

Response: Thank you for your comment.

Comment: 3. Results. It is recommended to briefly summarize what is discussed in the section in form of a short introduction at the beginning of the chapter.

Response: Thank you for pointing this out. The introduction in the results chapter was added: The chapter presents analyse of latest Forestry Law with by-laws and related fire  protection regulation, grouped according to the main regulation area: sustainable development, environmental protection, nature protection, biodiversity conservation, protected areas, fire protection, waste management, forestry, agriculture and other related laws. The economic impact of forest fires on state forest management was presented through the calculation of first age class afforestation costs, growing stock assortments value, and estimation of non-wood forest functions. Using the Mean Seasonal Severity Rating (SSR), Extreme Weather Conditions and Potential Meteorological Risk of Forest Fire in selected period was analysed.

4. Discussion. It is also recommended to divide this section into several subsections according to the main directions of the research work outlined in section 2.2.

Response: Thank you. The discussion chapter is divided into the paragraphs which follow sections methodology and results.

5. Conclusions. It should be recommended to add some paragraphs, which should contains the suggestions for future research areas. It is also recommended that the authors make suggestions based on national experiences that could be applied by other governments with similar problems in the European or international scale.

Response: Thank you. We agree. Suggestions are provided according to the presented research and issues related to the EU level. The paper analysed the current forest policy framework in relation to determining, providing, valorising and protecting forests and their services. In line with the research aims conclusion contain research suggestions.

Comment: The references used in the review are relevant and assist the reader to understand the authors objectives.

Response: Thank you. Some additional references are added

Comment: The lines 905-915 can be deleted.

Response: Thank you. The lines are deleted.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors have done a major revision of their manuscript.

The quality of English Language is good.

Reviewer 3 Report

Now the revised version is sound enough with novelty for good read for international readers.