Mapping the wildland-urban interface from houses locations and terrain slope in Patagonia Argentina

Urbanization of forested areas increases the surface of wildland-urban interface (WUI), where fire is the primary hazard for humans and ecosystems. We determined the WUI using a novel approach in NW Patagonia, Argentina and evaluated its relationship with the fire ignition points. The WUI expands a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sanucci, Corina, Gonzalez, Sofia Laura, Ghermandi, Luciana
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/205678
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/205678
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE
FIRE IGNITIONS
WILDFIRE RISK
WILDFIRE HAZARD
PATAGONIA
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:Urbanization of forested areas increases the surface of wildland-urban interface (WUI), where fire is the primary hazard for humans and ecosystems. We determined the WUI using a novel approach in NW Patagonia, Argentina and evaluated its relationship with the fire ignition points. The WUI expands a greater distance on upslopes, where the rate of fire spread is highest. The WUI reaches the maximum distance under the most hazardous conditions: houses surrounded by fuels with steep slopes towards them. In the Bariloche district in 2021, the WUI included 81% of the houses and occupied 37% (11,006 ha) of the total study area. Between 2015 and 2021, 77% of fire ignitions occurred in the WUI, highlighting the relevance of urban growth planification and the management of fuel load to reduce wildfire risk