bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Empathizing with James Baldwin in I Am Not Your Negro
Authors: Heiser Emily
Published: October 2022

Raoul Peck’s film I Am Not Your Negro is based on a book that James Baldwin never got the chance to finish before his death in 1987. Subsequent to the release of I Am Not Your Negro in 2017, multiple critics claimed to experience a connection to or understanding of Baldwin after watching the film, even though he did not actively participate in its creation. This article aims to explain this reception through the examination of the psychological process of projection and the evocation of empathy through art.
The Origins of the Film Star System: Persona, Publicity and Economics in Early Cinema, Andrew Shail (2019)
Authors: Sprouse Miranda
Published: October 2022

Review of: The Origins of the Film Star System: Persona, Publicity and Economics in Early Cinema, Andrew Shail (2019)

London: Bloomsbury Academic, 424 pp., ISBN: 9781788312073 (hbk), $120.00, ISBN: 9781350111417 (pdf), $108.00, ISBN: 9781350111424 (ebk), $108.00
Mulholland Dr.: Lost in the Senses
Authors: Clark Cole
Published: October 2022

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

USA

Directed by David Lynch Runtime 146 minutes Blu-ray USA, 2021

Distributed by the Criterion Collection (region A/1)
A forest fuel dryness forecasting system that integrates an automated fuel sensor network, gridded weather, landscape attributes and machine learning models
Authors: Lyell Christopher Sean , Nattala Usha , Joshi Rakesh Chandra , Joukhadar Zaher , Garber Jonathan , Mutch Simon , Inbar Assaf , Brown Tegan , Gazzard Tim , Gower Alice , Hillman Samuel , Duff Thomas , Sheridan Gary
Published: October 2022

Accurate and timely forecasting of forest fuel moisture is critical for decision making in the context of bushfire risk and prescribed burning. The moisture content in forest fuels is a driver of ignition probability and contributes to the success of fuel hazard reduction burns. Forecasting capacity is extremely limited because traditional modelling approaches have not kept pace with rapid technological developments of field sensors, weather forecasting and data-driven modelling approaches. This research aims to develop and test a 7-day-ahead forecasting system for forest fuel dryness that integrates an automated fuel sensor network, gridded weather, landscape attributes and machine learning models. The integrated system was established across a diverse range of 30 sites in south-eastern Australia. Fuel moisture was measured hourly using 10-hour automated fuel sticks. A subset of long-term sites (5 years of data) was used to evaluate the relative performance of a selection of machine learning (Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) based Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM)), statistical (VARMAX) and process-based models. The best performing models were evaluated at all 30 sites where data availability was more limited, demonstrating the models' performance in a real-world scenario on operational sites prone to data limitations. The models were driven by daily 7-day continent-scale gridded weather forecasts, in-situ fuel moisture observation and site variables. The model performance was evaluated based on the capacity to successfully predict minimum daily fuel dryness within the burnable range for fuel reduction (11 â€“ 16%) and bushfire risk (
A study on the 3D Unreal Engine visualization technology of WFDS Plot3Ddata for the development of a virtual forest fire training simulator
Authors: Kim Donghyun , Hyunggyen Choi
Published: October 2022

The expression of flames and smoke in the existing VR engine is an image-based fake flame and smoke that does not have a physics analysis process. In this study, after converting the operation data analyzed in the wildland-urban interface fire dynamics simulator (WFDS) into an FGA file containing vectors and physical quantities at intervals of N seconds, the 3D Unreal engine developed an expression technology for values and vectors movement for smoke and heat. In addition, a visualization program was developed for the movement of flames and smoke according to wind speed and direction in the Unreal engine using a physics analysis model. As a result, the grid data values of the SMV and the UE virtual reality engine showed a 100% coincidence rate, and the visual difference between heat and smoke showed similarity through contrast ratio and lighting effect. The fire visualization expression of the 3D object value of combustibles according to the reduction in mass due to combustion was expressed by automatically updating the 3D object combustible material per unit time through material rendering for each combustion stage.
Legal Regulation of Fuel Management Areas
Authors: Lopes Dulce , Vitali Karoline Tavares
Published: October 2022

Fuel management areas (FMA) can be classified depending on their different objectives, as primary, secondary and tertiary, and can be made up of firebreaks when fuels are totally removed, fuelbreaks and fuelbreak shades when land remains covered by vegetation, but fuels are reduced in volume and flammability. Given the recognized importance of these areas (as defensible spaces), but also their variety, they may be found in several legislations but regulated in quite different modes. In general terms, however, it is possible to observe that there are common features which are considered in the legal regulation of fuel management, mostly at the wildland-urban interface: the location of the land; its wildfire hazardousness and the type of the vegetation present on the property and its surroundings. Portuguese legislation distinguishes between primary, secondary and tertiary fuel management areas, but adopts a very simplified approach to secondary FMA, considering only the type of activity at hand and the type of land (forest or agricultural) in the surroundings, and no other relevant factors as topography, climate and concrete vegetation. This contribution focuses on secondary areas and defines their main traits, from the point of view of legal regulation, and also the difficulties in their operationalisation.
Numerical investigation of the effect of wind speed on wildfire interaction with an idealized building
Authors: Ghodrat Maryam , Edalati-nejad Ali , Davies Phillip L.
Published: October 2022

This paper presents an investigation into the impact of wind speed on the interaction of wind driven surface fire with an idealized building structure. The open-source large eddy simulation (LES) fire dynamic solver, FireFOAM, was used to simulate fires burning with an intensity of 10 MW/m under various wind speeds. The numerical data was validated using a wind only simulation which compared aerodynamic data to the previous full size experimental and numerical studies. The results show the aerodynamic flow characteristics and their interaction with the idealized structure located downstream of the fire source. Increase in wind speed showed a linear relationship to increase in the coefficient of lift on the building. The local coefficient of pressure on the building was calculated which indicated significant risk of damage due to aerodynamic lift caused by buoyant fire updraft. The results also show that at a constant fire intensity, increasing wind speed leads to an increase in the average temperature of the domain downstream of the fire to a certain value and then decreases.
Rural fires – Causes of human losses in Portugal
Authors: Rodrigues Andreia , Viegas Domingos Xavier , Zêzere José , Santiago Aldina , Laím Luís
Published: October 2022

Forest fires are the cause of many fatalities in Portugal and around the world. Extreme fire phenomena are increasingly, giving rise to intense and uncontrolled fires, with dimension and destructive potential greater than what is used to seeing and dealing with. The occupants of rural areas have a history of peaceful coexistence with fire, and they consider be prepared. However, with the abandonment of rural areas, abandonment of the agricultural activities that were carried out around the villages and the elderly populations, mean that villages are no longer naturally protected and fires get closer to the houses with greater intensity. It is crucial to protect rural populations that are vulnerable to wildfire threat. 2017 in Portugal comes with a milestone in history due to the high number of fatalities, in two different occurrences spaced in time, but geographically close: about 92% of deaths occurred in urban forest interface areas. Analysing the location of the mortal victims, it is possible to identify risk factors that lead to the death of civilians in the face of rural fires, such as the increase in demand for rurality, both for permanent and tourist housing, of inhabitants of urban areas, less used to the reality of rural fires, the false sensation of security that older populations will be able to due to changes in land use processes, making these populations even more vulnerable and, not least, the lack of preparation and awareness make the population wait for the fire to arrive at the homes. Population still has a poor perception of fire risk, making wrong last-minute decisions that sometimes lead to death. It is imperative to create models and protection mechanisms for populations in the urban-forest interface environments. This paper presents an analysis of the characteristics and causes of death of the victims of the June and October 2017 fires in Portugal, recognizing risk factors that led to their death.
The effect of downslope terrain on wildfire dynamics in the presence of a cubic structure
Authors: Edalati-nejad Ali , Ghodrat Maryam , Sharples Jason J.
Published: October 2022

In the current work, a numerical study is performed to investigate the effect on the downslope field by a wind driven surface fire in the presence of an idealised building structure. Fires burning with an intensity of 15 MW/m on inclined terrain with various downslope angles of 0, -10, -20, and -30Â°, and under a constant wind speed of 12 m/s are simulated using a large eddy simulation (LES) solver, implemented in open-source platform FireFOAM. The results are validated with experimental measurements of a full-scale cubic building model. The presented outcomes highlight the physical effect of sloped terrain on a building in the vicinity of a line-fire. The results show that at a constant fire intensity and wind speed, an increase in downslope angle leads to an increase in the surface temperature of the structure downstream of the fire source. In addition, it is shown that increasing the downslope angle from 0Ëš to -30Â°, results in a reduction of the average air density around the structure downstream of the fire. Furthermore, by increasing the downslope inclination of the terrain from 0Ëš to -30Â° increases the average temperature of the building surface by 30%, and increases the temperature of zone downstream of the fire by 9%.
Turbulent Wildland Fire Spread by Ember Wash
Authors: Speer Kevin , Quaife Bryan , Tong Xin
Published: October 2022

We implement an ember spotting and ember wash model within an idealized 2D coupled fire-atmosphere model. To do this, we add a stochastic transport to the background or total coupled wind field. An exponentially distributed or a normally distributed velocity anomaly added to the total wind vector represents a turbulent transport of the probability of ignition near ground by intermittent processes. These processes may include including gusts, tumbling, and near-front small-scale coherent wind eddies that trap embers and transport them forward, hence carrying the fire along the near-surface total wind field.
After an off-season fire: the behavior of exotic Eucalyptus globulus and invasive Acacia longifolia in Portugal
Authors: Anjos Andreia , Jesus Joana , Marques Cristina , Borralho Nuno , Trindade Helena , Chozas Sérgio , Máguas Cristina
Published: October 2022

The introduction of species into exotic areas has increased, although it results in serious impacts on novel ecosystems. In Portugal, Eucalyptus globulus (exotic species) and Acacia longifolia (exotic invasive species) occupy a vast forested area. Eucalyptus globulus was extensively planted due to its role in pulpwood industries and, while the majority of plantations are managed, some are poorly managed along with isolated trees dispersed in the landscape (seed-trees) that are very huge and old, potentially increasing the risk of dispersal. Acacia longifolia was introduced for dune stabilization, but quickly expanded, becoming invasive without human intervention. As a leguminous species, the ability to establish symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria seems to be crucial to potentiate this invasiveness; however, these mutualistic interactions will interfere with soil microbiota, altering plant communities and affecting local biodiversity. Being two species adapted to post-fire regeneration, their behavior changes after fire occurrence, however after off-season fires, there is a gap in knowledge about their establishment dynamics. Eucalyptus globulus plantations and surrounding areas of seed-trees affected by June and October 2017 fire events were sampled, as well as unburnt areas. Acacia longifolia root-nodules were collected from unburnt and burnt areas affected by 2017 October fire and bacterial community was isolated and identified. Our results showed that the fire date and pre-fire management restrained E. globulus natural regeneration, with greater establishment in unmanaged plantations affected by the October fire. The presence of seed-trees seems to be less influenced by these factors (fire date and management), and can be considered an important seed source. Also, A. longifolia bacteriome has lower diversity after fire, but the main symbionts seem to be nitrogen-fixing bacteria, indicating a more specialized symbiosis that could enhance post-fire invasion. Bradyrhizobium spp. were the main partners in both studied zones, revealing its role as a facilitating microorganism. Off-season fires specific conditions seem to create more favourable conditions for E. globulus establishment, while A. longifolia seems to be able to establish promiscuous symbioses, but simultaneously adapt to a disturbed environment, managing to outcompete effectively with other plant species
Analyzing the EU forestry sector to seek new market opportunities using Minimum Spanning Tree based clustering analysis
Authors: Han Jongmin , Pacheco Abílio Pereira , Rodrigues José Coelho
Published: October 2022

To enhance the economic viability and address the labour shortage in the forestry industry, alternative solutions using robotization and automation are emerging. However, due to technological barriers and lack of solid business models, successful commercialization in the forestry sector is yet to be challenging. As an initial market analysis for developing a business model for new forestry machineries, this study was conducted to reveal clusters of EU countries to seek the potential market opportunities outside of Portugal. To identify similar market conditions and restrictions, EU countries were clustered using a hierarchical clustering algorithm and selection of variables while considering the geographic, economic, and social conditions of each country. Preliminary results showed that Austria and Poland had similar social capital and geographic conditions.
An operational platform for fire danger prevention and monitoring: insights from the OFIDIA2 project
Authors: Bacciu Valentina , Mirto Maria , Fiore Sandro Luigi , Sirca Costantino , Saura Josè Maria Costa , Scardigno Sonia , Scardigno Valentina , Nassisi Paola , Nuzzo Alessandra , D’Anca Alessandro , Aloisio Antonio , Verri Giorgia , Coppini Giovanni , Caputo Ivana , Pirone Lucio , Spano Donatella , Aloisio Giovanni
Published: October 2022

The project OFIDIA2 (Operational FIre Danger preventIon plAtform 2), funded by the Interreg Greece-Italy 2014-2020 Programme, proposed a pragmatic approach to improve the operational capacity of the stakeholders to detect and fight forest wildfires. A data analytics system was designed and implemented within the project to manage, transform, and extract knowledge from heterogenous data sources, through forecasting models such as weather, fire danger, and fire behaviour models. The high-resolution weather forecasting network previously developed in OFIDIA1 was enhanced by using a mesoscale configuration of the WRF-ARW model over the Central Mediterranean Sea. A nested domain over the Southern Italy at ~2km horizontal resolution allows getting high-resolution weather forecasts (2x2km) and processing data into fire danger models. Fires, fuel, topography and weather data were collected from several sources and used to run and calibrate fire models (FlamMap and Wildfire Analyst) in Apulia region (Italy). Based on the analyses of recurrent weather conditions leading to large fires, fire metricsâ€™ maps for prevention and fire-fighting activities were produced. Finally, a Decision Support System (DSS) was also developed to provide support for 1) the selection of fire behaviour scenarios by means of mathematical models; and 2) the prevention of emergencies thanks to weather forecast information with fire danger indices at high resolutions.
Investigating the potential impact of climatic conditions on fire occurrence in Lebanon
Authors: Mitri George , Gebrael Karen
Published: October 2022

As Lebanon has experienced an increasing number of fires, this work aimed at assessing the potential impact of climatic conditions on fire occurrence in the country. The results showed an increasing trend of fire events especially in high altitudinal ranges of vegetation levels. Simultaneously, increasing drought conditions were observed in high mountain lands. The results of this study strongly supported a link between changing climatic conditions and fire occurrence in Lebanon. This has resulted in clear impact on vulnerable forest ecosystems, however, a more detailed analysis about the consequences of frequent and intense fires on both vulnerable community livelihood and the natural environment is yet to be assessed.
Living with fire in the landscape: uncomfortable adaptation, or border war?
Authors: D’Arcy Zoe
Published: October 2022

With anthropogenic climate change already bringing more frequent and more intense wildfires, combined with significant human populations living in wildfire-prone landscapes, there are increased calls for adaptive approaches to fire. There is hope that by doing so, and by moving from a predominantly responsive â€˜war on wildfireâ€™ approach, humans can learn to â€˜thrive with fireâ€™ (Tedim et al. 2020). Humans around the world have always shared their landscapes with fire â€“ circumstances dictating the degree of comfort. Through these lived experiences, the stories of humans learning to live within their landscapes and therefore with fire have always been â€“ and continue to be â€“ stories of learning and innovation (Bowman et al. 2011; Pyne 2016). These adaptations, however, have been both enabled and constrained by how humans and their institutions have envisioned their relationships with the more-than-human actors and agents that share the landscape with them (Ruane 2018). These actors and agents include, amongst many other things, fire, vegetation and the weather. There has been a great deal of focus on what can be learnt from Indigenous knowledges about fire on the landscape (i.e. (Roos et al. 2016; Steffensen 2020). However, there has been less attention on how complex and often conflicting Western visions of the landscape and therefore of fire have contributed to particular adaptive approaches. This paper explores how these visions â€“ Aboriginal, as well as colonial, romantic, scientific, national and ecological â€“ are a useful way of examining current narratives and adaptive approaches to fire in an Australian context. Examining these differing visions helps understand the range of fire management adaptions that have emerged in Australia. Each vision has implications for how â€˜fire-adaptiveâ€™ communities might act; what decisions they might make; who might be involved; and the processes that are used to take an adaptive approach to fire. They offer knowledges and practices that could complement the dominant colonial vision of â€˜war on wildfireâ€™, as well as reduce the effects of social and environmental â€˜slow emergenciesâ€™ on human and more-than-human vulnerabilities. However, despite knowledge of these alternative visions in governments and communities, they are difficult to incorporate meaningfully into the dominant vision. Adaptive approaches to fire in more-than-human communities will require trade-offs across levels of society, scales of landscapes and of time.
Autonomous Wildfire Tracking Systems Based on UAV and Perspectives of Wildfire Digital Twin
Authors: Li Yizhou , Huang Xinyan
Published: October 2022

The ever-burgeoning development of digital twin systems lays the path for a new approach to wildfire monitoring and prevention. A real wildfire digital shadow reflects the fire development, providing a promising platform for firefighting decisions. However, currently, static terrain information cannot be integrated with dynamic wildfire locations, which is a great hindrance to the utilization of digital twin systems. The flame trend fails to be mapped in the digital shadow. The key to solving this issue is to ensure real-time data transfer. Thus, UAVs equipped with vision systems could be leveraged to maintain surveillance, transferring the real-time information to the digital twin systems. Initially, the study reviews the UAVs in wildfires. Specifically, the history of UAV tracking is introduced. Furthermore, the autonomous wildfire tracking system is proposed to assist in locating the fire front. A YOLO-based algorithm is utilized to detect the fire front. The UAVs use an orthographic view to locate the wildfire, controlling and maintaining the gesture with a perspective lock on the flame front. Then, UAVs track and follow the flame front without human intervention. In addition, the combination of UAV location information based on GPS and camera view information depicts the wildfire in the digital twin systems. This study aims to act as a pre-processing step for wildfire digital twin data transfer. It will provide a basis for the precise wildfire portrait in the virtual systems.
A comparison of four spatial interpolation methods for modeling fine-scale surface fuel load in a mixed conifer forest with complex terrain
Authors: Hoffman Chad M. , Ziegler Justin P. , Tinkham Wade T. , Hiers J. Kevin , Hudak Andrew T.
Published: October 2022

Forest fuel inventory, monitoring and mapping provide the basis for fuel management activities, including assessing wildfire hazards and risk, prescribed fire planning, designing silvicultural treatments, and predicting fire behaviour and effects at various scales. One of the most significant challenges in developing accurate surface fuel maps is capturing the spatial variability of fuel load within and between different fuel components. In this paper, we compare the performance of four spatial interpolation methods for estimating and mapping fine-scale fuel load in a dry mixed conifer forest in Colorado, USA. The four approaches are: classification, multiple linear regression, ordinary kriging, and regression kriging. We chose these methods because they are commonly used in ecological studies and cover a range of SIM including, non-geostatistical, geostatistical, and hybrid approaches. All SIM methods yielded unbiased fuel load estimates, with mean error within 3% of the observations with MAPE from 100% to 40%, depending on the specific fuel com-ponent and spatial interpolation method. Our results indicate that regression kriging was able to better capture the fine-scale spatial variability in fuel load compared to other spatial interpolation methods.
A Knowledge Network dedicated to Advanced Fire Analysis to better intervene
Authors: Stefic Wilfried , Supplisson Raphaël , Brichler Mélina
Published: October 2022

Faced with an increase in risks all over the the planet due to climate change and land management, scientists and operational staff are trying to find answers to adapt to 'increased risks'. Wildfires are a global problem that impact societies and the environment. Over the past decade, the number of wildfires has been unprecedented, creating great uncertainty for emergency responders. The results of these events are catastrophic impacts on life, property and the environment, e.g. Portugal 2017, Greece 2018, Spain 2019 in Southern Europe and Sweden 2018, Germany 2019, United Kingdom 2019 in Central and Northern Europe. Science proves that the risk of forest fires is increasing across Europe and that climate change is making the situation worse. Even countries that have never seen forest fires as a real threat to society and the environment will need to master firefighting. During a fire, European firefighting systems are exposed to demanding situations that help to understand fires and improve firefighting systems. Irrespective of the ability of some European emergency services to transfer acquired knowledge on wildfire management, extracting lessons learned and converting them into applicable knowledge for future events in the same or different countries is not sufficiently taken into consideration. Some countries have created knowledge networks around fire behavior analysis that operate at regional and national level (e.g. the FAST team in Spain, the Wildfire Tactical Advisor group in the UK and specialist centers in the Council Europe such as the Global Fire Monitoring Center in Germany and the European Forest Fire Center in Greece). A European forest firefighting knowledge sharing network is needed to extend existing regional and national knowledge, translate it with the mission of two-way learning to generate improved overall European emergency response capabilities in case of fire. With expertise in knowledge management, ENSOSP has joined forces with other recognized partners to develop a knowledge network specific to forest fires.
Accounting for the canopy drag effects on wildland fire spread in coupled atmosphere/fire simulations
Authors: Antolin William P. , Costes Aurélien , Rochoux Mélanie C. , Moigne Patrick Le
Published: October 2022

While near-surface wind is the main influential parameter governing the fire rate of spread (ROS), its characterization remains key to simulate wildland fire behavior. The correct repre- sentation of the intensity and variability of the near-surface wind under complex terrain and vegetation remains an open problem but is essential to make a coupled atmosphere-fire model applicable to actual wildfires. In this work, we study the impact of canopy drag effects on the near-surface flow and the fire behavior simulated by the coupled Meso-NH/BLAZE model in the context of the FireFlux I experimental grass fire for which trees were located upstream and on the flanks. Drag effects can be activated in Meso-NH running in large-eddy simulation mode following work by Aumond et al. (2013). The drag approach formulation consists of adding drag terms to the momentum equation and subgrid turbulent kinetic energy dissipation as a function of the foliage density. This approach is compared to the standard roughness approach and to the homogeneous case considered in Costes et al. (2021) where homogeneous grass was considered over the whole computational domain. Results show the dynamical influence of the surrounding vegetation. Results also indicate that the choice of parameterization, due to the difference in the represented physics, induces differences on the fire front propagation. This encourages us to explore different options to accurately represent the surface boundary layer in presence of complex vegetation for coupled atmosphere-fire modeling in future work.
Advances in burned area detection from remote sensing: The FireCCI products
Authors: Chuvieco Emilio , Pettinari M. Lucrecia , Lizundia-Loiola Joshua , Otón Gonzalo , Khaïroun Amin , Roteta Ekhi , Storm Thomas , Boettcher Martin , Danne Olaf , Brockmann Carsten
Published: October 2022

The FireCCI project has developed, during the last decade, a suite of burned area products based on remote sensing tailored to the climate researchers and also useful for different fire applications. The different products span from 1982 to 2020, and include global products at 250 m, 300 m, and 0.05-degrees spatial resolution, with derived grid products at 0.25-degree resolution. An additional burned area product at 20 m spatial resolution is available for Sub-Saharan Africa for 2016 and 2019. All products include ancillary information related to the uncertainty of the detection, the observational limitations, and the land cover burned. This presentation describes the characteristics of these products, called FireeCCILT11, FireCCI51, FireCCIS310 and FireCCISFD, and summarizes their similarities and differences, as well as their intended applications.
Analysis of the Canadian Fire Weather Index during large fires in Croatian Adriatic
Authors: Hojsak Tomislava , Kozarić Tomislav , Mokorić Marija
Published: October 2022

Wildland fires, especially the large ones, are becoming a growing problem in the climate changing world. More frequent and long-lasting drought conditions accompanied by high temperatures and heat waves, significantly increase fuel flammability, particularly during the summer period. The wildland fire occurrence and behaviour are to a large degree weather driven and thus strongly depend on the meteorological parameters such as humidity, temperature, precipitation, and wind speed, as well as on the amount of fuel load. The relationship between weather and fire occurrence and behaviour is included in Canadian Fire Weather Index system, which has been used in Croatia for fire risk assessment since 1982. In this paper, the characteristics of the Fire Weather Index components are analysed for large fires in the Adriatic region of Croatia. Fire weather indices were evaluated for 103 wildland fires with a burned area over 400 ha that occurred during summer fire seasons in the period from 2003 to 2021. Obtained median values of the moisture indices, as well as the fire behaviour indices (FFMC 93, DMC 139, DC 649, ISI 13, BUI 182 and FWI 45) showed values designated as high and very high in the available literature. The climate change will continue to increase the fire risk, and thus the possibility of large fires, so this analysis can provide a baseline for improvements and recalibration of the fire danger classes in the Adriatic area of Croatia. Along with the improved fire weather warnings, this will give a better and more accurate information about the increased wildland fire risk and the possibility of large fires.
Assessing the flammability of Molinia caerulea and mosses using a simplified method
Authors: Koutsomarkos Vasileios , Hadden Rory
Published: October 2022

An experimental investigation into the impact of moisture content on the flammability of fuels has been undertaken in this work. Two different vegetation types are studied; Molinia grass and moss. The approach followed in this work consisted of developing an appropriate sample preparation procedure to ensured homogeneous drying in a conditioning chamber and the development of an apparatus to support a consistent ignition procedure. The probability of ignition is evaluated as a function of fuel moisture. For Molinia grass, ignition is very likely to occur for a moisture content of less than 75%. For moss, this transition stage revolves around 20% of moisture content. Additionally, drying curves have been drawn for the specific drying conditions (30 ÂºC and 90% relative humidity), which can provide insight into the rate of drying of organic materials for these given environmental conditions. Finally, a discussion presents the main findings and limitations of this work, while providing insight into possibilities for future research.
Assessing the role played by meteorological conditions on the interannual variability of fire activity in four subregions of Iberia
Authors: Nunes Sílvia A. , DaCamara Carlos C. , Pereira José M. C. , Trigo Ricardo M.
Published: October 2022

The Iberian Peninsula is recurrently affected by severe wildfires resulting from an interplay of human activities, landscape features, and atmospheric conditions. Here we assess the role played by atmospheric conditions on wildfire activity as measured by Fire Radiative Power (FRP) derived from observations by the MODIS instrument. The study spans the period 2001-2020 and is performed in four pyroregions covering the Iberian Peninsula that have been used in recent years, namely the northwest (NW), southwest (SW), north (N) and east (E). Atmospheric conditions are characterized by means of the Fire Weather Index (FWI), which rates fire intensity. For each pyrogegion, the distribution of log_10â¡FRP is characterized by means of a statistical model that combines a truncated lognormal distribution central body with a lower and an upper tail, both consisting of Generalized Pareto (GP) distributions. The model is then improved by using FWI as a covariate of the parameters of the lognormal and the two GP distributions. Then, for each pyroregion, a set of 100 synthetic time series of total annual FRP is set up using the statistical models with and without FWI as a covariate. The role played by meteorological conditions is finally assessed by comparing the two sets between each other and against the time series of annual FRP derived from observations by the MODIS instrument. Results obtained for region SW show an increase from 90% to 96% of interannual explained variance of FRP when progressing from the model without to the model with FWI as covariate. Increases from 95% to 96%, 84% to 90% and from 78% to 86% were obtained for regions NW, N and E. It is worth stressing that these are conservative estimates of change, since the dependence of number of ignitions on FWI was not taken into account.
Assessment of forest fire risk perception at the fireshed level
Authors: Bechara Joseph , Mitri George
Published: October 2022

Forest fires are increasingly affecting forest ecosystems, with severe ecological and socio-economic impacts on neighboring communities. In this context, evaluating the risk of fires at the fireshed level is considered a crucial step towards improving knowledge about fire risk management, therefore, minimizing potential damages of wildfires on people, properties, and natural resources. The aim of this study was to assess forest fire risk perception of communities at two firesheds in Lebanon. In-person surveys were conducted in areas of high fire risk within each fireshed. The analyzed data showed variability in opinions and challenges about fire risk management. Most of the provided recommendations included advocating for the increase of awareness about fire risk and safety, inducing training about fire-fighting and creating networks to facilitate communication within communities at risk.
Biophysical drivers of fire regimes in Central Portugal
Authors: Bergonse Rafaello , Oliveira Sandra , Zêzere José Luís , Moreira Francisco , Ribeiro Paulo Flores , Leal Miguel , Santos José Manuel Lima e
Published: October 2022

The concept of fire regime is crucial for understanding how wildfires and their effects vary across space and time. We differentiate fire regimes within a regional-sized study area in central Portugal, and then investigate the degree to which their differences are influenced by a set of biophysical drivers. Using civil parishes as units of analysis, we employ three complementary parameters to describe the fire regime over a reference period of 44 years (1975-2018): cumulative percentage of parish area burned, Gini concentration index of burned area over time, and area-weighted total number of wildfires. Cluster analysis is used to aggregate parishes into groups based on similarities regarding these parameters. A classification tree model is then employed to assess the relative capacity of each driver to differentiate between groups of parishes with similar fire regime. Drivers included slope, summer temperature and spring rainfall, land use/land cover (LULC) type and patch fragmentation, and net primary productivity. Results allowed to distinguish four types of fire regime and show that these can be significantly differentiated by the biophysical drivers, of which LULC, slope and spring rainfall are the most important. Among LULC classes, shrubland and herbaceous vegetation play the foremost role, followed by agriculture. Our results highlight the importance of vegetation type, availability, and rate of regeneration, as well as that of topography, in influencing fire regimes in the study area, while suggesting that other drivers, likely of a social nature, should also be taken into account.
Canal Influence on Peat Properties at Different Fire Frequency Area
Authors: Musa Dayang Nur Sakinah , Tohir Mohd Zahirasri Mohd , Abdullah Luqman Chuah , Said Mohamad Syazaruddin Md , Sulaiman Muhammad Firdaus , Huang Xinyan
Published: October 2022

Peat has long been studied for its characteristics. The identification of the peat properties associated with peat depth and distance from the canal was carried out in Beaufort peatland. Peat fires happening at different frequencies contribute to differential physical and chemical properties. The method of identifying the peat properties were presented and discussed for in-depth physical and chemical properties in Beaufort Forest Reserve and Klias Forest Reserve, Sabah. The peat samples were collected from 0 cm (surface) to 150 cm using a peat auger at 50 cm intervals. The study found out that the in-depth (0 cm, 50 cm, 100 cm, and 150 cm) properties of porosity (%), moisture content (%), bulk density (g cm3), ash content (%), organic carbon content (%), and organic matter content (%) mostly differed (p
Construction and evaluation of Fire Forecasting Model based on IS4FIRES fire information system
Authors: Sofiev Mikhail , Kadantsev Evgeny
Published: October 2022

A challenging task of fire forecasting has been approached in climatological mode, i.e. for completely hypothetical meteorological scenarios (or for long meteorological archives) and without any relevant observational information on fires. This challenge has been approached by extending the methodology developed by FMI in collaboration with University of Latvia on the basis of statistical forecasting technique suggested by Main Geophysical Observatory (St. Petersburg). The technique was successfully applied to a wide variety of problems. The essence of the methodology is to establish a static mapping, i.e. a set of non-linear statistical dependencies between a set of predictors (in the current case, meteorological parameters including cloud-to-ground lightning flash density, and fire danger indices) and the predicted variable - the fire radiative power FRP or its time-integral, fire radiative energy, FRE. The methodology relies on a thorough investigation of the statistical properties of the data at hand and possible physics-based relations between the parameters. Therefore, the solution to the fire prediction problem started from investigating the statistical properties of the underlying datasets, first of all, MODIS FRP retrievals, which is presently the longest time series of FRP over 20 years (2000 - present).
Estimation of biomass consumption coefficients for FRP-based forest fires emission calculations
Authors: Oliva Patricia , Espinosa Eugenia , Briceño Idania
Published: October 2022

Near real-time emission estimations can be computed based on the fire radiated power (FRP) and the biomass consumption coefficients for each vegetation type. Therefore, the application of the methodology is limited by the knowledge of the biomass consumption (BC) coefficients, as the studies estimating the coefficients offer results on specific vegetation types. This study focuses on calculating biomass consumption coefficients for the most affected vegetation types in the Maule Region (Chile). We needed to estimate the biomass consumption rate to calculate the BC coefficients. Then, we computed the BC rate by estimating the biomass consumed in a specific burn time. We computed the time between VIIRS image acquisitions to assess the burning time. BC coefficients were obtained for four vegetation types: pine plantation, scrub, native oak-hualo forest, and arborescent scrub. In addition, we analyzed the variations of the BC coefficients by computing the BC coefficients on each time frame. Large variations were observed in the oak-hualo and pine plantation, which were related to the greater availability of biomass and variable fire behaviour
Evolution of the annual cycle of Burned Area in Portugal from 1980 to 2018: Implications for fire season management
Authors: Silva Pedro , Carmo Miguel , Rio João , Novo Ilda
Published: October 2022

The lengthening of the fire season in Portugal has been understudied, although there is evidence of changes in recent decades. In this brief study, we focused on the annual cycles of fire activity and related meteorological fire danger, thus bypassing the problem of subjective definition of what should mark the beginning and end of the fire season. Based on the daily time series of burned areas and occurrences collected in mainland Portugal by state services from 1980 to 2018, we searched for significant changes in the monthly and daily relative in-year distributions. In particular, an exceedance date method was used to determine day-scale trends in the anticipation/prolongation of fire activity in the year. We found an unequivocal diminishing trend in the proportion of annual burned area that occurs in the summer months (July to September), which was offset by an increase in the fraction from January to June. Apparently, the month of March plays an important role in these changes that should be clarified in future analyses. The daily analysis shows a clear shift of the cumulative curves of burned area to the left, which suggests an in-year anticipation of fire activity. Considering the dates of exceedance of the 15% of annual burned area, the found linear trend implies an anticipation rate of 1.34 days per year. Next, we evaluated seasonal changes in fire weather through the annual cycle of cumulative DSR, computed from daily FWI values. The results show, on average, an earlier increase in DSR when comparing the latter second half of the period (2000-2018) with the first one former (1980-1999). This difference develops from April to the end of September. Interestingly, a closer look shows a first increase in the gap as early as March, which disappears in April before steadily increasing again. Finally, we suggested that up-to-date knowledge of the interannual and interdecadal changes in the seasonality of both wildfires and fire weather is a decisive component, but not the only one, of a comprehensive and complex management of the fire season. A good illustration of this complexity is the fact that the annual definition of the fire season window necessarily affects the annual fire cycle by conditioning the ignition calendar.
FRISCO: Managing fire-induced risks of water quality contamination
Authors: Parente Joana Raquel Mendes Cação , Nunes João Pedro , Dias Luis , Benali Akli , Marques Marta , Pelayo Oscar González , Sá Ana Cristina Lopes de , Jahanianfard Dina , Nitzsche Niels , Faria Beatriz , Aparício Bruno , Calheiros Tomás , Wu Jinfeng , Baartman Jantiene , Föllmi Dante , Brito Carlos , Pastor Amandine Valérie
Published: October 2022

Fires can contaminate streams with fine sediments, nutrients, and ashes, threatening aquatic ecosystems and water supplies. Recent research on sediment and contaminant mobilization processes in burnt areas exists but linking mobilization with water contamination processes at larger scales remains challenging. In the FRISCO project, we argue that recent advances in understanding fire behavior and post-fire landscapes can overcome the major challenges in assessing and managing post-fire contamination risks. Links between fire characteristics and hydrologic impacts can be assessed by combining remote sensing and modeling tools with studies on fire severity and impacts on vegetation and soils. The impacts of fires on contaminant transport pathways can be assessed by combining landscape connectivity and hydrological modeling of burnt areas with field research on contaminant mobilization and transport. Overall, FRISCO researchers want to investigate the vulnerability of Mediterranean streams and water resources to contamination by fires. We hope that the results help stakeholders in the development of the best practices for post-fire contamination management.
High Resolution Fire Behavior Monitoring and Plume Simulation in the context of Experimental Fire
Authors: Paugam Ronan , Mell William , Filippi Jean-Baptiste , Rochoux Melanie , Wooster Martin
Published: October 2022

A high-resolution meteorological model has enough spatial detail and physical meaning to be able to characterize climate at small administrative regions in mainland Portugal (NUTS III). The weather conditions associated with the Synoptic patterns (Weather Types) are better detailed with this model data. This is essential for a better understanding of the relations between climate and forest fires which will allow for better measures taken by the decision makers.
Increasing potential wildfire energy flux from climate-driven mortality and fuel aridity
Authors: Hurteau Matthew D. , Goodwin Marissa G. , Zald Harold S.J. , North Malcolm P.
Published: October 2022

Moisture stored in live and dead vegetation acts as a regulator on fire behaviour and area burned. Climate change is altering the distribution of live and dead fuels in forests through drought and insect-induced mortality and simultaneously making dead fuels more flammable because of decreasing fuel moisture. These system changes, both of which are driven by increasing temperature, have the potential to increase the heat flux from combustion, contributing to an increased risk of fires in affected areas becoming plume-dominated. In the southern Sierra Nevada of California and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, drought and insect outbreaks have increased tree mortality rates, increasing the proportion of biomass that is in dead versus live fuel pools. We sought to determine the contribution that high rates of mortality could have onpotential changes in energy release (energy release component and fire radiant energy) for mixed-conifer forests in the southern Sierra Nevada and lodgepole pine forests in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the site of two large wildfires during the 2020 fire season. We found substantial increases in dead fuels and substantial decreases in fuel moisture during 2020, which increased the potential fire radiative energy. Our results demonstrate that climate-driven tree mortality and increasing temperatures that lead to lower fuel moisture are increasing the amount of energy stored in biomass that is available for combustion.
Introducing LPJ-GUESS-SPITFIRE: a coupled global fire-vegetation model
Authors: Forrest Matthew , Hickler Thomas
Published: October 2022

Fire-enabled dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) provide modelling frameworks for integrating many drivers of fire regimes and simulating feedbacks between fire and vegetation. They can then be used to investigate fire-vegetation dynamics and project fire activity into future or past scenarios. Here we present the fire-enabled DGVM LPJ-GUESS-SPITFIRE which combines the widely used LPJ-GUESS DGVM with the SPITFIRE global fire model. We also evaluate the model simulation against burnt area and fire speed Earth observation datasets. We find that the model reproduces the global burnt area patterns with reasonable skill and improves on a previous model version. However there are some regions where model performance is lacking, and through the comparison with fire speed we diagnose some possible causes and suggest potential ways to improve model performance. Despite this, we conclude that overall model performance is sufficient for global scale studies.