Abstract
Fuel moisture content (FMC) proved to be one of the most relevant parameters for controlling fire behavior and risk, particularly at the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Data relating FMC to spectral indexes for different species are an important requirement identified by the wildfire safety community. In Valparaíso, the WUI is mainly composed of Eucalyptus Globulus and Pinus Radiata—commonly found in Mediterranean WUI areas—which represent the 97.51% of the forests plantation inventory. In this work we study the spectral signature of these species under different levels of FMC. In particular, we analyze the behavior of the spectral reflectance per each species at five dehydration stages, obtaining eighteen spectral indexes related to water content and, for Eucalyptus Globulus, the area of each leave—associated with the water content—is also computed. As the main outcome of this research, we provide a validated linear regression model associated with each spectral index and the fuel moisture content and moisture loss, per each species studied.
Highlights
The latest wildfire seasons in Chile have caused significant human, ecological and economic losses in cities, in the forestry industry and in protected areas
The behavior of the eighteen vegetation indexes is proportional to the water indicators
The aforementioned behavior is modeled as a linear regression in Appendix A (Figures A1–A5), where a individual linear model is presented with its corresponding coefficient of determination R2
Summary
The latest wildfire seasons in Chile have caused significant human, ecological and economic losses in cities, in the forestry industry and in protected areas. 11 fatalities, burned more than 550,000 ha and destroyed more than 1000 houses [1]. According to Chile’s Forest Service (CONAF), from 2003 to 2018, 12,868 recorded wildfires burned 121,328.81 ha in Valparaiso [3]. Such figure offers a spatial visualization of areas majority affected [7]. Given the susceptibility of Valparaíso to wildfires, it becomes crucial to allocate the areas with a higher risk for an adequate forest and wildland–urban interfaces (WUI) management
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