Rev. Gest. Soc. Ambient. | Miami | v.17.n.9 | p.1-21 | e03515 | 2023. 1 RGSA – Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental ISSN: 1981-982X Data de submissão: 16/06/2023 Data de aceite: 18/09/2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24857/rgsa.v17n9-019 Organização: Comitê Científico Interinstitucional Editora Chefe: Christian Luiz da Silva Avaliação: Double Blind Review pelo SEER/OJS VEGETATION ANALYSIS AND SILVICULTURAL SUGGESTIONS FOR MITIGATING FIRE DANGER AND PROTECTING NATURE THE CASE OF A NATURA 2000 SITE IN SOUTHERN GREECE Marianthi Tsakaldimi 1 Petros Ganatsas 2 Nikolaos Oikonomakis 3 Elias Kouloukouras 4 Thanasis Partozis 5 ABSTRACT Purpose: The development of a methodological approach for the estimation of the wildfire danger in a protected area, located near a big city, based on the dominant factors contributing to a fire-prone environment and affect fire behavior. Theoretical framework: Vegetation management in protected areas characterized by sprawling of adjacent urban and suburban development patterns, is a complicated task, especially under Mediterranean climate due to the high vulnerability to wildfires. They should aim, among others, to mitigate forest-fire occurrence risk, eliminate the wildfire damages as well as to protect humans, and conserve the high biodiversity of the protected areas. Method: We generated a forest fire occurrence danger zone map based on: i) historical fire data ii) types of vegetation and forest ecosystem characteristics, iii) topographical characteristics, iv) distance from the settlements, and v) distance from the roads. A probability model equation for forest fire occurrence was produced. Wildland- Urban Interface mapping was also considered. Results and conclusion: Four categories of forest fire occurrence danger zones, ranging from very high to low, were classified. The zones with high and very high fire occurrence danger cover a low percentage of the study area (6.84% and 5.76%, respectively). In the very high fire danger zones, Pinus halepensis forest and evergreen sclerophyllous vegetation, prevail. A great part of the Wildland-Urban Interface WUI belongs to the zones of high and very high fire occurrence danger. Research implications: Several silvicultural and policy measures for creating fire-resilient ecosystems and mitigating the possibility of a wildfire occurrence and damages, are suggested. Originality/value: The determined site-specific vegetation management and policy measures are of great importance for land management in similar areas. Keywords: Forest Fires, Vegetation Management, Protected Areas, Forest Habitats, Silvicultural Treatments. 1 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Thessaloniki, Greek Macedonia, Greece. E-mail: marian@for.auth.gr Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4202-6404 2 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Thessaloniki, Greek Macedonia, Greece. E-mail: pgana@for.auth.gr Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9613-3072 3 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Thessaloniki, Greek Macedonia, Greece. E-mail: nick0981@gmail.com 4 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Thessaloniki, Greek Macedonia, Greece. E-mail: ikoulouk@for.auth.gr 5 OMIKRON Ltd, Thessaloniki, Greek Macedonia, Greece. E-mail: info@omikron-sa.gr