Forest Fires in Europe: Regime Shifts, Resilience, and Adaptive Management Under Global Change

Wildfire is becoming a central force shaping forest dynamics across Europe. Longer fire seasons, recurring drought events, fuel accumulation linked to land abandonment and forest structural changes, and expanding human exposure are altering when, where, and how fires occur. At the same time, European forests are highly diverse, spanning Mediterranean, temperate, boreal, and mountain systems, which makes cross-biome comparison especially valuable for understanding fire impacts and management needs at the EU scale. Despite growing research output, major gaps remain in linking fire regime change to forest resilience, post-fire trajectories, biodiversity, carbon dynamics and governance across European regions. A dedicated Research Topic can bring together empirical, modelling, and interdisciplinary studies that move beyond documenting fire occurrence to addressing the mechanisms, consequences, and management implications of changing fire activity. This collection will provide an integrative platform for research on how European forests respond to fire under global change, how fire risk can be reduced and how science can support adaptation, restoration, and policy.This Research Topic aims to synthesize and advance knowledge on the ecological consequences and management implications of changing fire regimes in European forests under climate and global change.We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themesChanging fire regimes and impacts on forest dynamics- Trends in fire seasonality, recurrence, and severity across Europe - Interactions between climate drivers (e.g., drought) and fuel dynamics - Impacts on regeneration, forest structure, and carbon balance Forest vulnerability, resilience, and ecosystem trajectories- Species- and trait-based responses to fire: mechanisms of resistance, resilience, and adaptive capacity - Divergent ecosystem trajectories, including recovery, transformation, or failure: Thresholds, tipping points - Effects of compound disturbances (fire and drought, fire and insects) Risk reduction and adaptive forest management- Fire risk at the wildland-urban interface: landscape configuration and fuel continuity - Restoration strategies for fire-prone areas- Monitoring and decision support (remote sensing, modelling, early warning systems) - Governance challenges and opportunities for climate adaptation and integrated fire management Topic editors: Víctor Fernández García, Alba Viana-Soto Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81691/forest-fires-in-europe-regime-shifts-resilience-and-adaptive-management-under-global-change