Invasive vegetation fuels huge fires in Bogotá – 01/29/2024 – Environment

The forest fires that left Bogotá under gigantic columns of smoke last week had a particular fuel: the dry leaves, branches and dead wood of exotic plant species that invade the capital of Colombia.

Eucalyptus, pine trees and thorny rocks (Ulex europaeus) cover the mountain range that limits the city to the east, where, since January 22, 4 of the more than 340 fires that have hit Colombia since November have occurred, leading to a declaration of “natural disaster” in the country.

None of these plant species, however, are native to the city of eight million inhabitants. They are considered “pyrophiles” due to their affinity with fire.

“When a fire occurs, they benefit from their reproduction and begin to occupy larger areas, displacing native vegetation”, explains biologist Arnold García Samaca, researcher at the National University of Colombia.

“These plants made the eastern hills [de Bogotá] more prone to fires due to the amount of plant material they store” in the soil, which often does not have adequate microorganisms to degrade this exotic vegetation, adds the researcher.

This litter spreads like a vegetable mattress in the capital’s mountains and fuels the flames, in the midst of a season of extreme heat and droughts resulting from El Niño, which is forecast until June.

The “branches and wood [destas espécies] They are fuels that help maintain the fire for hours and even days” due to their volatile oils and resins that are difficult to extinguish, adds García.

Over the past four years, the Bogotá Environment Secretariat has removed 136.2 hectares of hills, a task considered arduous due to their difficult access, the entity told AFP.

“In addition to being a management problem [das espécies vegetais de Bogotá]the underlying cause is that we are always looking for the fastest way” to control deforestation and other problems, says José A. Muñoz, also a researcher in the field and a doctoral candidate in biology.

“Planting for the sake of planting will never be the solution”, reinforces the expert, for whom it is urgent to establish the real quantity of vegetable fuels in the mountains of Bogotá, as is done in other countries.

Contacted by AFP, the environmental authority of the hills, the Regional Autonomous Corporation (CAR) of Cundinamarca, said that after the emergency due to the fires, a reforestation plan will be implemented with local species, such as cedar, “encenillo” or white-flowered rosemary .

“We will establish which species should be indicated, which should be native. Once the soils are restored, we will be able to carry out this planting”, explained the director of CAR, Alfred Ballesteros.

Support from Brazil

This Monday (29), President Lula (PT) called Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, to offer support in fighting the fires in the neighboring country.

According to a note released by the Presidency of Brazil, the Colombian government suggested that a regional fire prevention post be created. Lula, according to Planalto, proposed a “meeting to create a working group, within the scope of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), that will make it possible to advance joint efforts to combat fires in the Amazon.”