Coordinating institution : IRD
Partner institutions : CNRS | UVSQ – Université Paris-Saclay | University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne | École des Ponts et Chaussées | École Pratique des Hautes Études
Project leader : Florent Mouillot (IRD)
Project duration : 48 months | 25 September 2025 → 24 September 2029

Forest fires are a major natural disturbance affecting French forest ecosystems. To date, the burned area has remained the primary indicator reported by the media and used to guide risk management policies. However, this approach masks a more complex reality, particularly with regard to biodiversity and ecological resilience.

The QWERTY project, developed within the framework of the PEPR FORESTT programme, aims to create an innovative method to better assess the impacts of wildfires on forests, beyond biomass loss alone. It focuses on the ecological vulnerability of natural environments and their capacity to recover after fire.

Project objectives

QWERTY pursues three main goals :

• Map the ecological value of forests in metropolitan France, focusing on the diversity of forest habitats that support biodiversity.
• Assess the vulnerability of these habitats to wildfires by analysing their resistance and regeneration capacities.
• Propose an integrated ecological risk indicator combining fire typology, ecological values, and post-fire recovery dynamics.

An innovative approach

The project builds on the latest advances in artificial intelligence and satellite-based Earth observation to :

• Produce high-resolution maps of tree height and forest composition.
• Model the potential distribution of animal biodiversity (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians) based on species functional traits.
• Analyse long-term changes in forest landscapes using Landsat archives (since 1973).

Scientific validation and social perception

Results will be validated against field observations (species presence, measured post-fire impacts) and complemented by analyses of human perceptions of fire-affected forests (aesthetic value, tourism, real estate).

Towards ecological risk mapping

Ultimately, QWERTY will deliver :

• A national map of ecological vulnerability of French forests to wildfires.
• An interactive web interface enabling near real-time visualisation of wildfire impacts on ecological values and carbon emissions.
• An assessment of fire severity by combining satellite data, field measurements (CO/CO₂ sensors), and information from the ICOS atmospheric monitoring network.

The QWERTY project addresses the RESILIENCE & ADAPTATION and MONITORING challenges of the PEPR FORESTT programme. It paves the way for more precise, ecologically informed, and data-driven wildfire risk management in French forests.