Arhiva Josip Leto - Dinara back to LIFE

Lecture: How much CO2 was emitted during the Dinara wildfires of 2017 and 2020?

At the recent 57th Croatian & 17th International Symposium on Agriculture in Vodice, members of our project team from the Faculty of Agriculture University of Zagreb presented their estimate of carbon dioxide (CO₂) released in the 2017 and 2020 wildfires on Dinara. The results of the study were presented during the poster session.

CO₂, a greenhouse gas, is the largest contributing factor to global warming and in 2021 record CO₂ emissions caused by wildfires were broken in many parts of the world, including the Mediterranean.

In this study, doc. dr. sc. Hrvoje Kutnjak, prof. dr. sc. Josip Leto and assistant Lucija Rajčić tried to estimate CO₂ emissions from the biomass samples collected during our project at Dinara mountain by making an approximation of the total biomass burned during the two wildfires and multiplying this with the CO₂emission factor for biomass burning.

Using Sentinel-2 satellite images, the areas affected by the August 2017 and April 2020 wildfires were identified. Using the geographic information system (GIS), the size of the area was measured. The area affected by the 2017 wildfire was estimated at 64 km², and by the 2020 wildfire at around 62 km².

Graph: Red – the area affected by the 2020 wildfire; yellow – 2017 wildfire

Biomass samples collected at the burned area as part of our project were used to approximate the total biomass burned in these wildfires. Finally, the estimated mass of emitted CO₂ was obtained by multiplying the total biomass with the CO₂ emission factor. It was estimated that more than 11,500 tons of CO₂ were emitted in the 2017 wildfire, and approximately 11,000 tons of CO₂ in the 2020 wildfire.

The calculated amounts aren’t exact, they are an approximation. This is the first time a similar method was used for grasslands in Croatia. The estimated emissions are just an approximation but we hope to refine the method in the future. A more detailed description of the study can be found on the poster below –

https://dinarabacktolife.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/poster2.pdf

A new research has begun – exclusion cages set on Dinara

Professors Hrvoje Kutnjak and Josip Leto and assistant Lucija Rajčić from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb have recently set up so-called “exclusion cages”, as part of research for our project.

Prof Kutnjak on the field

These roller cages are about a meter and a half in diameter and one meter high, constructed of wire mesh, and attached to the ground. Their purpose is to prevent livestock from accessing this excluded piece of lawn. In this way, the set of grassland is preserved locally as well as the growth of plants. This method ultimately provides experts with the possibility of better insight into the botanical composition and productivity of grasslands in the project area.

Cages prevent grazing on the excluded section of the grassland

A total of six cages have been set up, four of which are in Ježević dry grassland, while two are in the Podinarje area near Kijevo. The cages are marked with leaflets with a message asking random passers-by not to touch the cages and thus help the research conducted in the Dinara area.

This year we plan to set-up additional cages. The results obtained will give a better insight into the utilization of grassland’s natural resource as well as new knowledge useful for grassland management in protected areas.

IMPRESSUM

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