RT Journal Article
T1 Developing customized fuel models for shrub and bracken communities in Galicia (NW Spain)
A1 Vega, José Antonio
A1 Álvarez González, Juan Gabriel
A1 Arellano Pérez, Stéfano
A1 Alonso Rego, Cecilia
A1 Ruiz González, Ana Daría
K1 Wildland fuels
K1 Fuel models
K1 Medoids
K1 Cluster analysis
K1 Fire behaviour
K1 Fire management
K1 Fuels classification
AB Geospatial fire behaviour and fire hazard simulators, fire effects models and smoke emission software commonly use standard fuel models in order to simplify data collection and the inclusion of complex fuel scenarios. These fuel models are often mapped using remotely sensed data. However, given the great complexity of fuelbeds, with properties that vary widely in both time and space, the use of these standard fuel models can greatly limit accurate fuel mapping. This affects fuel hazard assessment, fuel reduction treatment plans, fire management decision-making and evaluation of the environmental impact of wildfire. In this study, we developed unique customized fire behaviour fuel models for shrub and bracken communities, by using k-medoids clustering analysis based on both fuel structural characteristics and potential fire behaviour. We used an original database of 722 destructive sample plots in nine different shrub and bracken communities covering the entire distribution area in Galicia (NW Spain), one of the regions in Europe most affected by forest fires. Measurements of cover, height and fuel fractions loads differentiated by size and vegetative state (live or dead) were used to estimate the potential rate of fire spread with five different models including fireline intensity, heat per unit area and the flame length for each sampling site and considering extreme environmental conditions. The optimal number of clusters was established by combining practical knowledge about the shrubland communities under study and their associated fire behaviour, with maximization of the mean value of the silhouette variable and minimization of the within-cluster sum of squares. The structural characteristics of the medoids derived from the analysis were associated with each of the proposed customized fuel models. Finally, a simple dichotomous classification based only on shrub height was developed to enable construction of spatially explicit fuel model maps based on remotely sensed data. Thus, the methodology applied allows generation of a more realistic representation of fuel distribution in the landscape, based on fuel structure measurements of natural regional ecosystems rather than on the use of standard models. We believe that the proposed methodology is generally applicable to communities composed of other shrub and fern species in different biogeographical regions.
PB Elsevier
SN 0301-4797
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/33083
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/33083
LA eng
NO Journal of Environmental Management Volume 351, February 2024, 119831
NO This work was supported by the projects: 1FD97-1122-C06-05; INIA-AGL2001-1242-C04-02; INIA-RTA 2009-00153-C03 (INFOCOPAS); INIA-RTA2014-00011-C06 (GEPRIF); INIA-RTA2017-00042-C05 (VIS4FIRE) and PDC 2021-120,945-C55 (APPVIS4FIRE) funded by the Spanish National Program of Research, Development and Innovation (Plan Estatal de I + D + i) co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union; also by projects: ENV4-CT96-0438 (Fuego Programme); ENV04-CT98-0763 (Fuego 2 Programme); EVG1-CT2001-00041 (FIRESTAR); EVR1-CT-2002–4002 (EUFIRELAB) and FP6-018,505 (FIRE PARADOX), funded by the Environmental Research Programs of the DGXII of the European Commission (European Union); and finally by SAFTOR project (SOE2/P2/E457) from the SUDOE Interreg IV B Program with ERDF funds. The work of Stéfano Arellano Pérez in this article was supported by grant PTQ 2021-012,150 awarded by the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501,100,011,033.
DS Minerva
RD 28 abr 2026