The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean Areas
Mediterranean forests are gravely affected by wildfires, and despite the increased prevention effort of competent authorities in the past few decades, the yearly number of fires and the consequent damage has not decreased significantly. To this end, a number of dynamical methods have been developed...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/15/2356 |
| _version_ | 1797561616034693120 |
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| author | Giovanni Laneve Valerio Pampanoni Riyaaz Uddien Shaik |
| author_facet | Giovanni Laneve Valerio Pampanoni Riyaaz Uddien Shaik |
| author_sort | Giovanni Laneve |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mediterranean forests are gravely affected by wildfires, and despite the increased prevention effort of competent authorities in the past few decades, the yearly number of fires and the consequent damage has not decreased significantly. To this end, a number of dynamical methods have been developed in order to produce short-term hazard indices, such as the Fire Probability Index and the Fire Weather Index. The possibility to estimate the fire hazard is based on the observation that there is a relationship between the characteristics of the vegetation (i.e., the fuel), in terms of abundance and moisture content, and the probability of fire insurgence. The density, type, and moisture content of the vegetation are modeled using custom fuel maps, developed using the latest Corine Land Cover, and using a number of indices such as the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), Global Vegetation Moisture Index (GVMI), and the evapotranspiration, derived from daily satellite imagery. This paper shows how the algorithm for the calculation of the Fire Potential Index (FPI) was improved by taking into account the effect of wind speed, topography, and local solar illumination through a simple temperature correction, preserving the straightforward structure of the FPI algorithm. The results were validated on the Italian region of Sardinia using official wildfire records provided by the regional administration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:17:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed3d7d90abc3476dab647bf4beef5157 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:17:26Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed3d7d90abc3476dab647bf4beef51572023-11-20T07:37:08ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-07-011215235610.3390/rs12152356The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean AreasGiovanni Laneve0Valerio Pampanoni1Riyaaz Uddien Shaik2Scuola di Ingegneria Aerospaziale, Sapienza University of Rome, 00138 Rome, ItalyScuola di Ingegneria Aerospaziale, Sapienza University of Rome, 00138 Rome, ItalyScuola di Ingegneria Aerospaziale, Sapienza University of Rome, 00138 Rome, ItalyMediterranean forests are gravely affected by wildfires, and despite the increased prevention effort of competent authorities in the past few decades, the yearly number of fires and the consequent damage has not decreased significantly. To this end, a number of dynamical methods have been developed in order to produce short-term hazard indices, such as the Fire Probability Index and the Fire Weather Index. The possibility to estimate the fire hazard is based on the observation that there is a relationship between the characteristics of the vegetation (i.e., the fuel), in terms of abundance and moisture content, and the probability of fire insurgence. The density, type, and moisture content of the vegetation are modeled using custom fuel maps, developed using the latest Corine Land Cover, and using a number of indices such as the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), Global Vegetation Moisture Index (GVMI), and the evapotranspiration, derived from daily satellite imagery. This paper shows how the algorithm for the calculation of the Fire Potential Index (FPI) was improved by taking into account the effect of wind speed, topography, and local solar illumination through a simple temperature correction, preserving the straightforward structure of the FPI algorithm. The results were validated on the Italian region of Sardinia using official wildfire records provided by the regional administration.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/15/2356wildfiresmediterraneanhazardMODIS |
| spellingShingle | Giovanni Laneve Valerio Pampanoni Riyaaz Uddien Shaik The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean Areas Remote Sensing wildfires mediterranean hazard MODIS |
| title | The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean Areas |
| title_full | The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean Areas |
| title_fullStr | The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean Areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean Areas |
| title_short | The Daily Fire Hazard Index: A Fire Danger Rating Method for Mediterranean Areas |
| title_sort | daily fire hazard index a fire danger rating method for mediterranean areas |
| topic | wildfires mediterranean hazard MODIS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/15/2356 |
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