Wildfire Hazard Assessment in the Protected Areas of the Hyrcanian Temperate Forests, Northern Iran

Wildfires play a crucial role in sustaining the health of various ecosystems; however, anthropogenic activities and climate change have significantly changed the dynamics of wildfires globally, resulting in intricate effects on ecosystems. Addressing these impacts necessitates locating areas at higher wildfire hazards. We analyzed wildfire hazards in the protected areas of northern Iran by modeling the historical fire environment with FlamMap MTT (Finney, ۲۰۰۶). The small historical fire datasets complicate the methods for estimating wildfire hazards in Iran. However, this research describes the availability and completion of recent fire history data in Guilan province for ۱۹۹۲-۲۰۲۲. We selected the Guilan province because it is typical in this regard, with fire experienced at various locations across the Hyrcanian forests, especially in the fall and winter months. To generate a wildfire hazard map in the protected areas, we used the simulated results of BP and CFL under the historical fire conditions in the study area. The required geospatial datasets were developed through field surveys, remote sensing methods, geostatistical analysis, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Based on the results, wildfires igniting in the protected areas were ۸% of all fires in the Guilan province (۰.۱% of the total burned area). ۱۷.۶% of the protected areas (۱۸.۳% of the study area) are located in high and very high wildfire hazard areas. This work presented the capabilities of the wildfire modeling approach for the temperate forest region in northern Iran.

کلیدواژه ها:

Guilan ، FlamMap ، Climate change ، Wildfire risk