Sig.na
Rabia Hundal
(1Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council of Italy, I-40129 Bologna, Italy 2University of Urbino - Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, I-61029 Urbino, Italy 3Scuola Universitaria Superiore Pavia (IUSS), I-27100 Pavia, Italy)
Climate change in the Mediterranean region raises serious concerns about the role of open vegetation fires in the climate-altering species. This study reviews current methodologies for quantifying greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions from open vegetation fires and examines the data provided by four state-of-the-art inventories of carbon dioxide (CO2), me-thane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and black carbon (BC) in the Mediterranean region from 2003-2020.
Only a limited number of studies have addressed the quantification of emissions from open fires in this region. Our review revealed discrepancies among the four inventories (GFED v4.1s, GFAS v1.2, FINN v2.5, and EDGAR v8.0). FINN v2.5 consistently reported the highest emissions, while GFED v4.1s reported the lowest. The relative ranking of total emissions varies by species (e.g., CO2 vs. CH4), and different proportions are attributed to the countries within the Mediterranean domain. These differences arise from variations in the spatial resolution of fire detection, the approaches to estimating fuel loads, and emission factors applied.
The three inventories that reported wildfire emissions identified consistent peaks in 2007, 2012, and 2017. These peaks are likely linked to extreme fire seasons and may have been influenced by La Niña events. To improve the accuracy and consistency of emission estimates for the region, we recommend combining bottom-up methods with the top-down approaches based on satellite and in situ atmospheric observations.
Sig.na
Rabia Hundal
(1Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council of Italy, I-40129 Bologna, Italy 2University of Urbino - Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, I-61029 Urbino, Italy 3Scuola Universitaria Superiore Pavia (IUSS), I-27100 Pavia, Italy)
Dr.
Saurabh Annadate
(1Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council of Italy, I-40129 Bologna, Italy 2University of Urbino - Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, I-61029 Urbino, Italy 3Scuola Universitaria Superiore Pavia (IUSS), I-27100 Pavia, Italy)
Dr.
Rita Cesari
(4.Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council of Italy, I-73100 Lecce, Italy)
Dr.
Alessio Collalti
(5Forest Modelling Lab., Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean (ISAFOM), National Re-search Council of Italy, I-06128 Perugia, Italy 6National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), I-90133 Palermo, Italy)
Dr.
Michela Maione
(1Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council of Italy, I-40129 Bologna, Italy 2University of Urbino - Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, I-61029 Urbino, Italy)
Dr.
Paolo Cristofanelli
(1Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council of Italy, I-40129 Bologna, Italy)
