Accounting for fuel in fire danger forecasts: the fire occurrence probability index (FOPI)
Francesca Di Giuseppe
Abstract
Abstract A new fire danger index is proposed to overcome one of the most important limitations of current fire danger metrics. The fire occurrence probability index (FOPI) combines the Canadian fire weather index (FWI) with remote observations of vegetation characteristics to better predict landscape flammability. The FOPI is designed to improve fire danger predictions in all fuel-limited environments where fire is driven by the short-term drying of intermittently-available fuel. The FOPI considerably outperforms the FWI in arid biomes while remaining comparable to the FWI where fuel is abundant.
Topics & Concepts
FlammabilityEnvironmental scienceBiomeIndex (typography)Vegetation IndexVegetation (pathology)MeteorologyClimatologyComputer scienceNormalized Difference Vegetation IndexLeaf area indexGeographyGeologyEcologyPhysicsMedicineEcosystemBiologyPathologyWorld Wide WebThermodynamicsFire effects on ecosystemsRangeland and Wildlife ManagementLandslides and related hazards