WUlmap： A Software Tool for Mapping Wildland-Urban Interfaces in Mediterranean European Context

WUIma -which stands for Wildland-Urban Interface MAPping-is a software tool based on a GIS model （developped with Arcgis functions） designed to map wildland-urban interfaces at a large scale over a large area. The main outputs of WUImap are： （1） the map of twelve types of wildland-urban interfaces existing on the territory; （2） the map of four housing configuration （isolated, scattered, dense and very dense clustered housing） related to wildland-urban interfaces （WUI）. These maps are produced according to the method of WUI characterization combining housing configuration and horizontal structure of vegetation. Required inputs to map WUI are the layer of the residential house, the layer defining the fire sensitive area and the layer of the index of aggregation calculated on vegetation. The method of WUI characterization and mapping incorporated into WUImap has been evaluated and applied on real cases with good results. WUlmap has applicability as a decision support aid in a wide variety of land management ranging from fire management and fire prevention to analysis of WUI spread and land cover dynamic. The core method underlying the WUlrnap is summarized in the present paper.