The University of Zaragoza has hosted the launch of EFHERA, a European project focused on the restoration of forest areas affected by major firesThe initiative was created to accelerate the hydrological and environmental recovery of agroforestry areas, with special attention to soil erosion and the loss of fertility caused by large-scale fires.
Coordination falls on the Government of Aragon, through the General Directorate of Forest Management and SARGA, with the participation of technical and institutional representatives from Spain, France, and Portugal. The launch event served to align objectives, define a common roadmap, and outline the technological tool that will support the teams on the ground. homogenizing criteria and facilitating informed decisions.
A coordinated push from Aragon
EFHERA joins the program Sudoe Interreg and has a budget of 1,4 millones de eurosThe consortium comprises eight main partners and eight collaborators from the three countries involved, with Aragon at the helm of coordination through SARGA. The objective is to deploy practical solutions for the post-fire hydrological and environmental recovery, combining scientific knowledge and field experience.
Technology for better decision-making
El Engineering Research Institute of Aragon (I3A) is leading the development of a digital platform that will support managers and agents working in post-fire restoration. This tool will integrate georeferenced data (topography, vegetation, soil type) and high-resolution numerical models for simulate scenarios and quantify risks.
The models, driven by the Fluid Dynamics Technologies Group of the I3A, allow to reproduce the response of the terrain to different rainfalls on burned surfaces, estimate the runoff, erosion and sediment transport, and locate the most vulnerable areas. Projections are contemplated at different time scales (10, 50, 100 and 200 years), in a context of increased risk of fires, to plan scientifically based actions and prioritize those slopes or basins with the greatest potential soil loss.
Pilot actions in three countries
The initiative foresees between three and four pilot actions in areas affected by large fires in Spain, Portugal, and France. In these areas, the models and platform will be applied to assess, with quantitative data, which sectors of a fire—which can easily be covered 5.000 or 10.000 hectares—are at greater risk of soil degradation and where sediment is most likely to be deposited.
With this information, restoration teams will be able to plan more effective interventions (from measures to curb erosion to revegetation actions) and anticipate impacts on infrastructure or water bodies. The tool will complement professional experience with comparable calculations across the entire burned area, facilitating planning for large fires.
A network of partners and a previous track record
The consortium brings together leading entities such as University of Zaragoza and the I3A (technical partners), the Provincial Council of Ávila, the University of Salamanca and Aula Dei Experimental Station (CSIC) in Spain; the University of Evora and Algarve Intermunicipal Community in Portugal; and the University of Pau in France. This multi-level structure allows for the combination of management, research, and practical application in a single framework geared toward restoration and sustainable use of land and water.
EFHERA continues a line of research that started in the computational hydraulics section, initially focused on rivers and floods, and which has been adapted to the post-fire context to study soil loss due to rainfall and currents. The first prototypes were supported by an Impulso project from the I3A and an Innovation project from the Government of Aragon, steps that now lead to this cooperation on a Sudoe scale.
Project start and next steps
The kick-off meeting held at the Meeting Room of the Betancourt Building (Río Ebro Campus) This has allowed us to present the general strategy, the communication plan, and the coordination mechanisms between partners. From here, the technical working groups are activated to validate the models in the field, define prioritization criteria, and consolidate the digital decision support platform that will be used by the teams responsible for the restoration.
With Aragon as its leader and a well-articulated transnational network, the project seeks to translate scientific evidence into operational guidelines for post-fire management. The combination of European funding, advanced tools and pilots in three countries It aims to accelerate the recovery of forests and reduce the impact of extreme events on soils, waterways and ecosystems.
