Mapping wildland-urban interfaces at large scales integrating housing density and vegetation aggregation for fire prevention in the South of France

Corinne Lampin-Maillet; Marielle Jappiot; Marlène Long; Christophe Bouillon; Denis Morge; Jean-Paul Ferrier

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.10.001

Mapping wildland-urban interfaces at large scales integrating housing density and vegetation aggregation for fire prevention in the South of France

J Environ Manage. 2010 Jan-Feb;91(3):732-41. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.10.001. Epub 2009 Oct 30.

Authors

Corinne Lampin-Maillet¹, Marielle Jappiot, Marlène Long, Christophe Bouillon, Denis Morge, Jean-Paul Ferrier

Affiliation

¹ Cemagref, UR EMAX, Aix-en-Provence, France. corinne.lampin@cemagref.fr

PMID: 19879685
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.10.001

Abstract

Every year, more than 50,000 wildland fires affect about 500,000ha of vegetation in southern European countries, particularly in wildland-urban interfaces (WUI). This paper presents a method to characterize and map WUIs at large scales and over large areas for wildland fire prevention in the South of France. Based on the combination of four types of building configuration and three classes of vegetation structure, 12 interface types were classified. Through spatial analysis, fire ignition density and burned area ratio were linked with the different types of WUI. Among WUI types, isolated WUIs with the lowest housing density represent the highest level of fire risk.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Conservation of Natural Resources / methods*
Fires / prevention & control*
Housing* / classification
Plants* / classification
Population Density*
Social Planning*
Suburban Population / classification
Wilderness*