Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage

Galicia is a region in NW Spain which is usually affected by a high number of forest fires, and it should meet the current regulations regarding the distance between forests and buildings. This paper aims to identify and characterize woodlands and classify buildings according to their fire risk, for...

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Main Authors: A. Robles, M. A. Rodríguez-Garrido, M. F. Alvarez-Taboada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitat Politècnica de València 2016-02-01
Series:Revista de Teledetección
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Online Access:http://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/raet/article/view/3967
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author A. Robles
M. A. Rodríguez-Garrido
M. F. Alvarez-Taboada
author_facet A. Robles
M. A. Rodríguez-Garrido
M. F. Alvarez-Taboada
author_sort A. Robles
collection DOAJ
description Galicia is a region in NW Spain which is usually affected by a high number of forest fires, and it should meet the current regulations regarding the distance between forests and buildings. This paper aims to identify and characterize woodlands and classify buildings according to their fire risk, for a 36 km2 area in Forcarei (Pontevedra, Spain). We used LiDAR data to generate three spatial models (DTM: Digital Terrain Model, DSM: Digital Surface Model and nDSM: Normalized Digital Surface Model) and two statistics to characterize the forest stands (density of dominant trees per hectare and their average height). The identification of forested areas was performed using an object-based classification method using the intensity image, the height model and an orthophotograph of the area, and a kappa coefficient of 0.82 was obtained in the validation. The woodlands were reclassified according to the magnitude of a possible fire, based on the density and the average height of the woodlands. The forest stands were mapped according to the magnitude of a possible fire and it was found that 1.18 km2 would be susceptible to a low magnitude fire, 3.75 km2 to a medium magnitude fire and 2.25 km2 to a fire of a high magnitude. Afterwards, it was determined whether the buildings in the area complied with the legislation relating to minimum distance from the forested areas (30 meters). For those that did not meet this distance, the risk of damage in case of a wildfire was calculated. The result was that 43.01% of buildings in the area complied with the regulations, 9.95% were located in a very low risk area, 25.74% in a low risk location, 12.37% in a medium risk area and 8.93% were in a high or very high risk area.
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spelling doaj-art-bf928207775342a29b41f3bd69d3a6cb2025-01-02T10:07:03ZengUniversitat Politècnica de ValènciaRevista de Teledetección1133-09531988-87402016-02-01045576910.4995/raet.2016.39673420Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damageA. Robles0M. A. Rodríguez-Garrido1M. F. Alvarez-Taboada2University of LeónUniversity of LeónUniversity of LeónGalicia is a region in NW Spain which is usually affected by a high number of forest fires, and it should meet the current regulations regarding the distance between forests and buildings. This paper aims to identify and characterize woodlands and classify buildings according to their fire risk, for a 36 km2 area in Forcarei (Pontevedra, Spain). We used LiDAR data to generate three spatial models (DTM: Digital Terrain Model, DSM: Digital Surface Model and nDSM: Normalized Digital Surface Model) and two statistics to characterize the forest stands (density of dominant trees per hectare and their average height). The identification of forested areas was performed using an object-based classification method using the intensity image, the height model and an orthophotograph of the area, and a kappa coefficient of 0.82 was obtained in the validation. The woodlands were reclassified according to the magnitude of a possible fire, based on the density and the average height of the woodlands. The forest stands were mapped according to the magnitude of a possible fire and it was found that 1.18 km2 would be susceptible to a low magnitude fire, 3.75 km2 to a medium magnitude fire and 2.25 km2 to a fire of a high magnitude. Afterwards, it was determined whether the buildings in the area complied with the legislation relating to minimum distance from the forested areas (30 meters). For those that did not meet this distance, the risk of damage in case of a wildfire was calculated. The result was that 43.01% of buildings in the area complied with the regulations, 9.95% were located in a very low risk area, 25.74% in a low risk location, 12.37% in a medium risk area and 8.93% were in a high or very high risk area.http://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/raet/article/view/3967LiDARmasas forestalesedificacionesincendioOBIA
spellingShingle A. Robles
M. A. Rodríguez-Garrido
M. F. Alvarez-Taboada
Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage
Revista de Teledetección
LiDAR
masas forestales
edificaciones
incendio
OBIA
title Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage
title_full Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage
title_fullStr Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage
title_short Characterization of wildland-urban interfaces using LiDAR data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage
title_sort characterization of wildland urban interfaces using lidar data to estimate the risk of wildfire damage
topic LiDAR
masas forestales
edificaciones
incendio
OBIA
url http://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/raet/article/view/3967
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AT marodriguezgarrido characterizationofwildlandurbaninterfacesusinglidardatatoestimatetheriskofwildfiredamage
AT mfalvareztaboada characterizationofwildlandurbaninterfacesusinglidardatatoestimatetheriskofwildfiredamage