Satellite remote-sensing technologies used in forest fire management

Satellite remote sensing has become a primary data source for fire danger rating prediction, fuel and fire mapping, fire monitoring, and fire ecology research. This paper summarizes the research achievements in these research fields, and discusses the future trend in the use of satellite remote-sensing techniques in wildfire management. Fuel-type maps from remote-sensing data can now be produced at spatial and temporal scales quite adequate for operational fire management applications. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellites are being used for fire detection worldwide due to their high temporal resolution and ability to detect fires in remote regions. Results can be quickly presented on many Websites providing a valuable service readily available to fire agency. As cost-effective tools, satellite remote-sensing techniques play an important role in fire mapping. Improved remote-sensing techniques have the potential to date older fire scars and provide estimates of burn severity. Satellite remote sensing is well suited to assessing the extent of biomass burning, a prerequisite for estimating emissions at regional and global scales, which are needed for better understanding the effects of fire on climate change. The types of satellites used in fire research are also discussed in the paper. Suggestions on what remote-sensing efforts should be completed in China to modernize fire management technology in this country are given.

A theoretical framework for improved fire suppression by linking management models with smart early fire detection and suppression technologies

Bushfires are devastating to forest managers,owners,residents,and the natural environment.Recent tech-nological advances indicate a potential for faster response times in terms of detecting and suppressing fires.However,to date,all these technologies have been applied in isola-tion.This paper introduces the latest fire detection and sup-pression technologies from ground to space.An operations research method was used to assemble these technologies into a theoretical framework for fire detection and suppres-sion.The framework harnesses the advantages of satellite-based,drone,sensor,and human reporting technologies as well as image processing and artificial intelligence machine learning.The study concludes that,if a system is designed to maximise the use of available technologies and carefully adopts them through complementary arrangements,a fire detection and resource suppression system can achieve the ultimate aim:to reduce the risk of fire hazards and the dam-age they may cause.

Forest fire prevention management legal regime between China and the United States

Precautions against forest fires,a significant element in the prevention and reduction of natural disasters in China,are very important to the development of public emergency systems,as well as to the safety of forest resources,ecology,people’s lives and properties.The USA has extensive experience in forest fire management,which has been widely accepted and used by other countries.The precautions taken by China and the USA to prevent forest fires have been compared in a great number of previous studies.However,most of the studies have focused merely on fire extinguishing technologies and management methods;they have lacked a comparative study on the legal aspects of management.This paper will consider five distinct aspects related to forest fire management between China and the USA and will analyze the similarities and differences as well as study other features to facilitate work related to precautions against forest fires in China.

Optimization of Grouping Evacuation Strategy in High-rise Building Fires Based on Graph Theory and Computational Experiments

It is difficult to rescue people from outside, and emergency evacuation is still a main measure to decrease casualties in high-rise building fires. To improve evacuation efficiency, a valid and easily manipulated grouping evacuation strategy is proposed. Occupants escape in groups according to the shortest evacuation route is determined by graph theory. In order to evaluate and find the optimal grouping, computational experiments are performed to design and simulate the evacuation processes. A case study shown the application in detail and quantitative research conclusions is obtained. The thoughts and approaches of this study can be used to guide actual high-rise building evacuation processes in future.

Usage of Cool Burning as a Contributor to Bushfire Mitigation

This paper considers and describes the cool burning techniques long utilized by Australian Indigenous people as a contributor to bushfire mitigation. Indigenous fire management involves lighting the “cool” fires in selected areas between March and July, in Australia, during the early dry season. The fires burn gradually, reducing fuel loads and creating fire breaks and not all of the area is burnt. Late in the dry season, when the weather is very hot, the method removes fuel for larger fires while maintaining and protecting habitat for mammals, reptiles, insects and birds. The management of Indigenous cultural fire offers an Indigenous viewpoint for wider control of fire and cultural fire management is an opportunity for collaborations to encourage Aboriginal empowerment with public and private sector organisations. Effective cool burning in contemporary prescribed burning activities can be achieved through implementation of good training, strong partnerships, carefully considered on ground practices and appropriate and effective techniques.

Regeneration of Nothofagus dombeyi(Mirb.)Ørst.in little to moderately disturbed southern beech forests in the Andes of Patagonia(Argentina)

Natural forests and stands subjected to little to moderate human impact are continuously declining worldwide and with these,their biodiversity and ecosystem services.Many Nothofagus forests in the south of the South American continent are in a pristine state or only moderately impacted by humans.Forest grazing by livestock,in the past and still today often practiced in a non-sustainable way is,however,increasingly under discussion to meet current environmental and socio-economic challenges.Accordingly,we investigate the regeneration of Nothofagus dombeyi,a keystone species of the Patagonian Andes,in secondary forests in Argentinian northern Patagonia,particularly addressing the role of disturbance through grazing by livestock at various intensities.We test the hypothesis that the regeneration of this tree species is favored by grazing impact and,thus,disturbance of the herb layer and soil surface.In support of our hypothesis,Nothofagus dombeyi regeneration was significantly higher in terms of individuals and height classes in moderately grazed forests.Multivariate analysis shows significant positive effects of moderate grazing pressure,herb layer cover,and the occurrence of bare soil on the regeneration of Nothofagus dombeyi.Our results show that an integration of livestock grazing and forest regeneration is possible and that agroforestry systems can be an adequate management option for stakeholders in the region.A grazing management can also be part of a forest fire prevention strategy.However,the regeneration success and grazing pressure should be continuously monitored.

STUDY ON THE NETWORK OF FOREST BURNING LINKS

Based on the research of the Forest Burning Links published in the Journal of Northeast Forestry University in 1987, this paper continues to study the theory of forest burning. Fire behavior has been divided into two important series in this paper. One is fire occurrence and spread, and the other is burning intensity. The first series has been divided into three grades as A: to burn difficulty and spread slowly; B: to burn possibly and spread little fast; and C: to burn easily and spread fast. The second series has been divided into four grades as Ⅰ: light burning; Ⅱ: medium burning; Ⅲ: intense burning; and Ⅳ: severe burning. The first series can be put as ordinate, and the second series can be put as abscissa. Then the network of 12 forest burning links can be formed. In the network, the relationship, the law of distribution and the variation of different forest burning links can be shown clearly. The studies of the distribution of fuel types, topography, site and fire kinds in the network can provide the basic theory for fire management.

Forest Fires and Prevention Strategies in Northwestern Region of China

The paper described the natural conditions and forest types in Northwestern Region of China. Most forests in the region are distributed in subalpine areas. It is important to protect the existent forests in the region for maintaining ecological balance. According to the statistics results of 1991~2000, the paper analyzes the forest fires distribution and fire severity. Annually the numbers of forest fires range from 52 to 240. The incidence rate of forest fires in Northwestern Region is under 0.33 per t...

Modeling fire ignition probability and frequency using Hurdle models: a crossregional study in Southern Europe

Background:Wildfires play a key role in shaping Mediterranean landscapes and ecosystems and in impacting species dynamics.Numerous studies have investigated the wildfire occurrences and the influence of their drivers in many countries of the Mediterranean Basin.However,in this regard,no studies have attempted to compare different Mediterranean regions,which may appear similar under many aspects.In response to this gap,climatic,topographic,anthropic,and landscape drivers were analyzed and compared to assess the patterns of fire ignition points in terms of fire occurrence and frequency in Catalonia(Spain),Sardinia,and Apulia(Italy).Therefore,the objectives of the study were to(1)assess fire ignition occurrence in terms of probability and frequency,(2)compare the main drivers affecting fire occurrence,and(3)produce fire probability and frequency maps for each region.Results:In pursuit of the above,the probability of fire ignition occurrence and frequency was mapped using Negative Binomial Hurdle models,while the models’performances were evaluated using several metrics(AUC,prediction accuracy,RMSE,and the Pearson correlation coefficient).The results showed an inverse correlation between distance from infrastructures(i.e.,urban roads and areas)and the occurrence of fires in all three study regions.This relationship became more significant when the frequency of fire ignition points was assessed.Moreover,a positive correlation was found between fire occurrence and landscape drivers according to region.The land cover classes more significantly affected were forest,agriculture,and grassland for Catalonia,Sardinia,and Apulia,respectively.Conclusions:Compared to the climatic,topographic,and landscape drivers,anthropic activity significantly influences fire ignition and frequency in all three regions.When the distance from urban roads and areas decreases,the probability of fire ignition occurrence and frequency increases.Consequently,it is essential to implement long-to medium-term intervention plans to reduce the proximity between potential ignition points and fuels.In this perspective,the present study provides an applicable decision-making tool to improve wildfire prevention strategies at the European level in an area like the Mediterranean Basin where a profuse number of wildfires take place.