The book presents a wide range of techniques for extracting information from satellite remote sensing images in forest fire danger assessment. It covers the main concepts involved in fire danger rating, and analyses the inputs derived from remotely sensed data for mapping fire danger at both the local and global scale. The questions addressed concern the estimation of fuel moisture content, the description of fuel structural properties, the estimation of meteorological danger indices, the analysis of human factors associated with fire ignition, and the integration of different risk factors in a geographic information system for fire danger management.

The book presents a wide range of techniques for extracting information from satellite remote sensing images in forest fire danger assessment. It covers the main concepts involved in fire danger rating, and analyses the inputs derived from remotely sensed data for mapping fire danger at both the local and global scale. The questions addressed concern the estimation of fuel moisture content, the description of fuel structural properties, the estimation of meteorological danger indices, the analysis of human factors associated with fire ignition, and the integration of different risk factors in a geographic information system for fire danger management.

This weather guide includes detailed specifications for locating and instrumenting fire weather stations, taking weather observations, and overwintering the Drought Code component of the FWI System. The sensitivity of the FWI System components to weather elements is represented quantitatively. The importance of weather that is not directly observable is discussed in the context of fuel moisture and fire behavior. Current developments in the observation and measurement of fire weather and the forecasting of fire danger are discussed, along with the implications for the reporting of fire weather of increasingly automated fire management information systems.

Develop accurate computer models to determine wildfire risks and controlled-burn benefits! Although scientists now recognize that fire is essential to many ecosystems, the ecological and political issues of managing wildfire continue to be vexing. Mapping Wildfire Hazards and Risks offers multiple perspectives on using a Geographic Information System (GIS) for more effective wildfire management. This innovative technology is the ideal tool to organize and display all the information available, so authorities can make informed judgments based on all the facts. Because the authors are not merely theorizing but discussing the GIS they are actually building and using, Mapping Wildfire Hazards and Risks offers practical ideas and perspectives, including: specific information on the modeling approach and kinds of data utilized valuable discussions of the social and environmental factors included in the model techniques for predicting the effects of wildfire on neighborhoods, soil erosion, sedimentation, and air quality predictions of long-term ecosystem recovery given wildfires of different sizes and intensities maps, charts, tables, and formulas to make the process of building a GIS understandable and accessible Mapping Wildfire Hazards and Risks is a compilation of the ideas of federal and state agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations on how to rank and prioritize forested watershed areas that are in need of prescribed fire. This book provides the essential information for deciding how to set priorities for wildfire management that might reduce risks or lower future damages.

Geo-information technology can be of considerable use in disaster management, but with considerable challenge in integrating systems, interoperability and reliability. This book provides a broad overview of geo-information technology, software, systems needed, currently used and to be developed for disaster management. The text invites discussion on systems and requirements for use of geo-information under time and stress constraints and unfamiliar situations, environments and circumstances.

The Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE) to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) simulates fuel dynamics and potential fire behavior over time, in the context of stand development and management. Existing models of fire behavior and fire effects were added to FVS to form this extension. New submodels representing snag and fuel dynamics were created to complete the linkages. This report contains four chapters. Chapter 1 states the purpose and chronicles some applications of the model. Chapter 2 details the model's content, documents links to the supporting science, and provides annotated examples of the outputs. Chapter 3 is a user's guide that presents options and examples of command usage. Chapter 4 describes how the model was customized for use in different regions. Fuel managers and silviculturists charged with managing fire-prone forests can use the FFEFVS and this document to better understand and display the consequences of alternative management actions.

Global Change is increasingly considered a critical topic in environmental research. Remote sensing methods provide a useful tool to monitor global variables, since they provide a systematic coverage of the Earth’s surface, at different spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions. This book offers an analysis of the leading missions in global Earth observation, and reviews the main fields in which remote sensing methods are providing vital data for global change studies.