PARIS (AP) 鈥� History keeps repeating itself in the , now ash-covered and charred.
Devastated by previous blazes in 2022 and 1949, when 82 people died, the largest human-made woodland in Western Europe has again been ravaged by wildfires which burned an area four times the size of Paris.
The forests of Les Landes 鈥� covering 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) 鈥� were created in the 19th century for timber and resin production. They comprise endless rows of pines in neat, close lines, which works against them in a wildfire, with from one tree to another.
Blazes loom as a growing danger for the timberland because Europe is the world鈥檚 fastest-warming continent. But climate change isn’t its sole vulnerability, experts say. They also point to the very nature of such industrial plantation, whose origins date back to the Second French Empire.
The is forcing a rethink in France about how to better prepare and manage forest expanses to cope with hotter, drier, more fire-prone conditions made worse by 鈥� from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
President Emmanuel Macron said a different kind of forest should be replanted.
鈥淭he structural conditions created by climate change, under which we will have to live, have changed,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o has the pressure from housing and tourism.鈥�
Highly flammable plantations
Maritime pine is considered relatively fire-resistant due to its thick bark and ability to regenerate naturally. But experts believe its monoculture increases risk. Single-species forests of conifers are drier than mixed forests of broadleaf trees and conifers, favoring flames.
鈥淚n a healthy, diverse forest there are multiple tree species, different age classes and several layers of vegetation, from ground plants and shrubs to mature trees such as oaks and beeches,鈥� says Nathalie Naulet, an expert in forestry and agriculture. 鈥淚n these ecosystems, less than 3% of the sun鈥檚 radiation reaches the forest floor.鈥�
In Les Landes, that layered structure does not exist.
鈥淲ithout a protective canopy, the soil heats up and dries out,鈥� Naulet said. 鈥淭he top few centimeters of soil, which should normally consist of water-rich humus, become dry and impoverished. In many places, humus has virtually disappeared.鈥�
Broadleaf trees retain more moisture, better for resisting fire. Pine trees coat the forest floor with mounds of flammable dead leaves that are springy underfoot but which can smolder long after a blaze.
Fire crews and citizens are now dousing smoking embers 鈥� a job that could take weeks.
鈥淣o matter how much we try to extinguish it, re-extinguish it, re-extinguish it, it keeps restarting all the time,鈥� said Jean-Francois Pauner, 64, a resident helping the effort.
Resinous pine cones can also ignite and be hurled hundreds of meters by wind, helping fire spread.
鈥淵ou end up with fires breaking out in every direction,鈥� Naulet said. 鈥淎dd heat and drought, and you get the picture.鈥�
Forest was created from scratch
Les Landes鈥� forests developed following a 1857 law on the drainage and cultivation of the Landes de Gascogne. Ruler Napoleon III ordered municipalities to sow maritime pines and sell off the heathlands, regarded as unproductive.
Marshland was transformed into productive forest. The last shepherds who tended their flocks while walking on stilts disappeared. The forest displaced peasants. They found work in the timber industry and the harvesting of pine resin. The forest鈥檚 main purpose now is timber production.
A big economic weight
More than 90% of the forest area in Les Landes is privately owned, with 75% held by just 20% of landowners. The National Forest Office and local municipalities manage the remainder.
According to the Southwest Foresters鈥� Association, which represents more than 65% of the privately owned forest in the region, the sector supports an estimated 60,000 jobs and generates more than 10 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in annual revenue.
Changing the way the Landes forests are managed will require negotiations between the timber industry, owners, and public authorities. If monoculture is partially abandoned in certain areas, financial compensation will be necessary.
Nicolas Lafon, the association’s president, said rebuilding will require 鈥渇inancial resources commensurate with the scale of the challenge.鈥�
鈥淔orest owners reject any attempt to portray them as being responsible for a disaster of which they are the primary victims,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey now expect the French government, elected officials, and all public stakeholders to implement a truly ambitious, coherent, and long-term national forest policy.鈥�
The national rethink on forests is also extending to wildlife. An online petition calling for a hunting moratorium in burned woodlands has gathered more than 300,000 signatories.
Rebuilding a new type of forest
Geographer Arthur Gu茅rin-Turcq says that when fires start in the Landes, they can spread without encountering breaks until they reach villages.
鈥淚t is therefore necessary to create buffer zones around settlements,鈥� he said. Other possible solutions could include adding wetlands, more farmland or more businesses that aren鈥檛 so fire-prone.
Another option is to introduce more broadleaf trees. But transforming the entire forested area is a tall order in poor soils, said Gu茅rin-Turcq, who wrote a report on the 2022 wildfires that displaced 37,000 people and destroyed 320 square kilometers (124 square miles) of forest.
Bruno Lafon, regional president of the Forest Fire Defense Association, called for stronger wildfire prevention.
鈥淲e need larger, well-maintained firebreaks, even if that means sacrificing 1,000 or 2,000 hectares,鈥� he said. 鈥淥therwise, we risk losing the Landes forest.鈥�
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Mark Carlson in Lanton, France, contributed.
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