Remote sensing and GIS-based forest fire risk zone mapping: The case of Manisa, Turkey

Derya Gülçi̇n,Bülent Deni̇z

doi:10.18182/tjf.649747

Abstract

The aim of this research is to map the potential forest fire risk zones using various landscape analysis techniques in Manisa province, Turkey. Forest fire, which is defined as an ecological disaster caused by natural processes or as a result of human activities, causes environmental degradation and fragmentation of the landscape. Therefore, it is very important to produce a fire risk zone map that can be used to minimize the frequency of fire, to prevent damage, to provide a prediction for the problems that may cause fire and to form a decision mechanism for the solution methods. This research utilized CORINE 2018 produced under the framework of the Copernicus Program which is the European Union's Earth Observation Programme coordinated and managed by the European Commission, ASTER Global DEM digital elevation model data obtained from the website of NASA Earthdata, fire archive records based on MODIS satellite images, digital stand map displaying the spatial distribution of tree species, and the OpenStreetMap (OSM) which were used for mapping the existing road network. Vegetation cover, slope, aspect, elevation, distance to settlement, and distance to road variables were used to determine risk zones. The specific weights were assigned to each thematic map layer according to their capacity on fire ignition. The slope, aspect, and elevation maps were generated from the digital elevation model. The distance to settlement map was generated from the CORINE database while the distance to road map was produced from OSM. The Fire Risk Zone Index (FRZI) was utilized to determine forest fire risk zones. According to the generated final fire risk map, almost 25.8% of the study area was predicted to be under very high and highrisk zones. The final forest fire risk model was validated with past fire incidents data that was acquired from MODIS images as fire points. The result of this research showed that out of 149 fire incidents in Manisa between 2001 and 2018, 97 incidents had occurred in very high and highrisk areas. This finding supports that the presented methodology based on RS and GIS techniques is reliable and can be effectively used in the process of delineation of the forest fire risk zones.

Highlights

Environmental processes have led to the need to plan and manage natural resources at a landscape scale
Data affecting the formation and behavior of fire are important in combating forest fires
The fire risk map related to these factors was put forth by analysing the topography, vegetation, distance to road and settlement area of Manisa province

Summary

Introduction

Environmental processes have led to the need to plan and manage natural resources at a landscape scale. The likelihood of a forest fire depends on the basic factors such as composition, spatial distribution, season, elevation and aspect that the fire-sensitive plant species form in the environmental process. In most cases, planning at the landscape scale is difficult because administrative boundaries established by society do not a Aydın Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi, Ziraat Fakültesi, Peyzaj Mimarlığı. Received (Geliş tarihi): 22.11.2019, Accepted (Kabul tarihi): 10.03.2020. Citation (Atıf): Gülçin, D., Deniz, B., 2020. Remote sensing and GIS-based forest fire risk zone mapping: The case of Manisa, Turkey.

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Conclusion