Fire risk potential detection using the Geographic Information System in the forest of north of Iran

Abstract

Forest fires and forest loss as a crisis and part of natural hazards have always been important challenges in recent years, and therefore preparing a fire risk map and eliminating fire-prone areas in order to manage these areas is very important for executive units. The purpose of this research is to prepare a fire potential map using the geographic information system for the forests of Talesh County, Gilan Province. In this research, fire risk zoning was addressed using a spatial-analytical method. In this way, the initial steps are based on the model, a digital elevation model of the region is prepared from the ASTER sensor DEM with a pixel size of 25 meters by 25 meters. Using the digital elevation model, slope maps, geographical directions, and elevation above sea level are prepared. The maps of the vegetation type and density of the region were then classified according to the plant to be burned. Maps of roads, residential areas and agricultural lands of the region were also prepared. All information layers were rasterized using the Polygon to Raster and Euclidian Distance commands. Then, using a questionnaire and an hourly valuation table in the AHP model, the subclasses were weighted. The results of using the AHP weighting method in zoning the fire risk potential showed that of the total area of ​​the study area, 42221.72 of the land was in the very low risk zone, 10528.67 of the land was in the low risk zone, 13567.94 of the land was in the low risk zone, 13827.32 and 13827.32 and 13867.32 were in the high risk zone in order of area. Therefore, the risk zones were high, medium, low, very high and very low in terms of area.