Citation

Lampin-Maillet C, Jappiot M, Long M, Bouillon C, Morge D, Ferrier JP. J. Environ. Manage. 2010; 91(3): 732-741.

Affiliation

Cemagref, UR EMAX, 3275 route de Cézanne CS40061, 13182 Aix-en-Provence cedex 5, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.10.001

PMID

19879685

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.

Language: en