Report on activities...
 Forest Fire Situation in Alpine Region
 General Trends in Austria
 ALP FFIRS project
ALP FFIRS
Alpine Forest Fire Warning System
– objectives
– activities and results
 Euro Alpine GFMC – Network
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED
Vienna, 10th March 2011
Vacik Harald
Institute of Silviculture, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
forest fire records
in Austria (1993 – 2009)
Fire density in Europe
Number and Size of fires (ha) 1993-2009
300
Number/size of fire (ha)
250
200
Size (ha)
150
Number
100
50
0
19
93
94 995 9 96 9 97 9 98 999
19
1
1
1
1
1
0
20
0
01 002 0 03 004 0 05 006
20
2
2
2
2
2
0
20
7
20
08
09
20
Fires per season
Year1993 - 2009
10%
100%
8%
Percent
80%
41%
Winter
60%
Fall
Summer
40%
Spring
20%
Catry et al. 2010
41%
0%
19
93
19
94
9
19
5
19
96
97
19
19
98
19
99
0
20
0
20
01
20
Year
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
20
03
0
20
4
20
05
20
06
0
20
7
20
08
0
20
9
Quelle: Datenbank BOKU 1993-2009
Stand: Oktober 2009
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
montly distribution of forest fires and causes
Austria (2002 – 2008)
anthropogenic causes
02
no common approach in Fire Danger
assessment...
natural causes
http://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu
months
17% of all forest fires are lightning-induced
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
(Müller M., 2010)
(Valese, 2008)
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
(Vacik et al., 2010)
general situation for forest fires
in European Alpine region
ALP FFIRS
 role of tourism and anthropogenic factors is increasing
 frequency of lightning-induced fires might increase due CC
 changed forest management has effects on fuel (extensive;
near to nature; natural hazards windthrows/bark beetle)
 lack of „fire management culture“
 difficult terrain for fire suppression activities
 heterogeneity of landscapes influences fire behaviour
 different meteorological gradients cause fire weather
(continental, vertical – altitudinal zones), winter / spring
 no common framework for fire danger assessment exists
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
18 public institutions: weather services, fire brigades,
universities, regional/national authorities in charge of
prevention, forestry services
Observers
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Fire records in the Alpine Forest Fires Database
Region
Years
Italy
Piedmonte
1997-2007
11
3 774
935
35 591,17
Friuli
2000-2009
10
1 101
890,5
4 692,67
Veneto
2000-2009
10
591
447
2 779,24
Lombardia
2000-2009
10
2 419
713,7
7 263,68
Austria
Austria
2000-2009
10
394
25
328,96
France
area63
Alpes de-HauteProvence
2000-2009
10
1 390
1 225
5 969,51
2000-2009
10
390
2 013
5 969,51
Hautes-Alpes
2000-2009
10
75
245
540,97
Ticino
2000-2009
10
352
325
1 501,03
Valais
2000-2009
10
37
310
365,94
1998-2010
13
5 069
950
7 870,22
Switzerland
Slovenia
Period
Number
Max burned
Total
burned
Country
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Comparision of Fire Weather Indices
 Canadian Fire Weather Index (Van Wagner, 1985)
 WBKZ – M68 (Käse 1969)
 Keetch Byram Drought Index (KBDI) (Dennison et al., 2003; Keetch, J.J.;
Byram, G.M., 1968)
 Palmer Drought Severity Indices
 Ichnusa Fire Index (Sirca et al. 2006, Spano et al. 2007)
 Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) (McKee et al.; 1993; LloysHughes, B., et al.)
 Hydrothermal coefficient von Selianinov (Ozolinicius, R., et al., 2005)
 Effective Drought Index (EDI) (Byun and Wilhite, 1999)
 Thornwaite Index (Thornwaite 1948, Thornwaite and Mather, 1957)
 Nesterov Index (Nesterov 1949)
 Angstrom Index (Skvarenia et al. 2003)
 FMI (Sharples et al. 2009)
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Calibration for fire danger rating
Trends in FWI performance
Comparing fires days with all days
• selection of FWI according to forest ecotypes
• seasonality of FWI winter / summer
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
COSMO – CLM dataset
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
(Wastl et al, 2010)
General concept for
ALP FFIRS Warning System
Fire Weather Indices Wiki and Calculator
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Fuel typ classification
high resolution meterological data
INCA approach by ZAMG (currently in Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia)
Corine landcover
Forest types classification
CORINE landcover classification
MODIS NDVI data used for the classification of
vegetaion types
Use of national forest inventory data (ÖWI)
MODIS images
Modell
Weather Stations
INCA
Radar- und satellite data
Adaptation to fuel models
(e.g. Scott and Burgan 2005)
Analysis and Prognosis
Dt=1h (15min), Dx=1km
Humidity
topography
Fuel Typ (dominant tree species,
fuel load, vertical structure)
Temperature
Forest biomass
Fuel types
20.01.2009
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
17/ 25
20.01.2009
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
linking fuel types to fuel models
• fuel models provided by Scott and Burgan
• fuel models developed for SNP (Switzerland)
• Pine forests (Pinus mugo ssp. Unicinata)
• Dwarf mountain Pine forests (Pinus mugo
ssp. mugo)
• Coniferous mixed forests (Pinus mugo/
Larix decidua
• Chestnut forests (Castanea Sativa)
• fuel models developed for Austria (Carinthia)
• Pine forests (Pinus sylvestris)
Fire danger scale approach (i)
(3) assign Fuel models
Fuel Model
Downed
woody
Dead wood
<0.6
0.6-2.5
2.5-7.5
SAV
depth
MX
Litter
Litter
(2) derive a Fuel map
Live
herbaceou
s
shrubs
Live herb.
<0.6
<0.6
0.6-2.5
trees
Live woody
<0.6
0 .6-2.5
2 .5-7.5
SAV
depth
MX
SAV
depth
MX
SAV
depth
MX
Rothermel parameter, flame length
Rate of spread, Fire intensity...
(4) define Fuel load
(5) define Fuel moisture
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Fire danger scale approach (ii)
(1) Fuel classification
FUEL Data
(6) calculate Fire intensities
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Procedures and training - User committee
Country
Organisation
Role within ALPFFIRS
FOEN Swiss Federal Office for the
Environment
observer
Michael Reinhard
observer
Objectives:
michael.reinhard@bafu.admin.ch
Swiss meteorological service
Role within the organisation
Responsible for coordinating the fire
danger forecasting for the whole
Switzerland
Responsible for fire danger
forecasting for the Swiss Region
south of the Alps
Forest Service of the canton of
Responsible for fire danger
Switzerland
Ticino
forecasting in Canton of Ticino
Cantonal Federation of Fire Brigades Implementing alert levels by the fire
in Ticino
fighting organisation
Forest Service of the canton of
Responsible for fire danger
Valais
forecasting in Canton of Valais
Forest Service of the canton of
Responsible for fire danger
Grisons
forecasting in Canton of Grisons
Fire-fighter officeer (Commandant),
SDIS 06 (Fire-fighters service of
deputy of operational service of
Alpes-Maritimes)
Alpes-Maritimes
Fire-fighter officeer (Ltn-Colonel),
France
Mediteranean Forest Protection
coordination of the forest fires
Service
prevention and suppression in the
South of France
Meteorological assistance for the
Méteo-France
forest fires forecast in France
national fire management activities
Austria
EC Expert Group on Forest Fires
and national statistics on forest fires
Paolo Ambrosetti
Contact person
Paolo.Ambrosetti@meteoswiss.ch
e-mail address
partner
Aron Ghiringhelli
aron.ghiringhelli@ti.ch
partner
Daniele Ryser
daniele.ryser@regionemalcantone.ch
• common
protocol for alerting
and operational
observer
Philipp Gerold
Philipp.GEROLD@admin.vs.ch
procedures
according to
fire danger conditions
observer
Andrea Kaltenbrunner
andrea.kaltenbrunner@afw.gr.ch
Degioanni
adegioanni@sdis06.fr
• mutualsub-contractor
aid measures inAlainmonitoring
and extinction
Observer
Jean-Jacques Bozaballian
jean-jacques.bozabalian@interieur.gouv.fr
?
Mr. Humer
franz.humer@feuerwehr-wels.or.at
Observer
?
• recommendation
papers
for institutional
bodies
Observer
Eric Bertrand
Eric.Bertrand@meteo.fr
• trainingpartner
of operative personnel
?
Italy
Germany
Slovenia
Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia
Giulia - Regional Civil Protection (I)
National Department for civil
Protection (I)
Regione Piemonte - Forest Policy
Dept. (I)
Regione Veneto - Directorate for
Responsible for forest fires
Forest and Mountain Economy (I) prevention, forcasting and fighting
Coordination of forest fires
Lombardia - Regional Department
prevention and suppression activities
for Civil Protection
in Lombardia Region
Ministery of interior - Bavaria
?
Training center for fire fighters Bavaria
German Meteorological Service
(DWD)
regional office of Administration for
civil protection and disaster relief
Slovenia Forest Service
Environmental Agency of Slovenia
rolando.rizzolo@regione.veneto.it
Observer
Cinzio Merzagora
cinzio_merzagora@regione.lombardia.it
Jens Ossig
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Dr. Harald Mayer
?
?
?
?
Marija Kolsek
Marija.Kolsek@zgs.gov.si
Klemen.Bergant@p-ng.si,
Andrej.Pecenko@gov.si
Head of "forest protection service" End-user (potential sub-contractor)
Director, weather forecaster
Observer
Klemen Bergant, Andrej Pecenko
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
GFMC - Regional Euro Alpine Network
http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/GlobalNetworks/EuroAlpine/EuroAlpine.html
Head of Research Unit Ecosystem Boundaries
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
http://www.wsl.ch/personal_homepages/conedera/index_EN?-C=&
Adrien Mangiavillano
Entente pour la forêt méditerranéenne /
Centre d’Essais et de Recherche de l’Entente (CEREN)
(Test and Research Center of the Entente for the Mediterranean Forest)
www.valabre-ceren.org
Harald Vacik
Institute of Siviculture, Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences
BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
http://www.wabo.boku.ac.at/vacik.html?&L=1
Eva Valese
Forest fire box for the use at higher elevations with bad
access or long lasting driving distances - to be transported
with helicopter support.
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
?
Rolando Rizzolo
Marco Conedera
Mobile communication center
allows to involve fire fighting, red cross,
mountain rescue, police, and army units
?
partner
Chief
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
Ground excercises
?
partner guidelines for end
?
• procedure
users
TESAF - Facoltà di Agraria
Università degli Studi di Padova
http://www.tesaf.unipd.it
Mid-Term Conference MANFRED - Vienna 10th March 2011
?
Training and
academic/professional
exchanges
Fuel models
Fire analysis
Fire Ecology
and fire patterns
....therefore our intentions in the network
Fire history and statistics
Fire ecology
Fire danger and
risk assessment
Fire management
Padova
University
Physical modeling
Chemical analysis
Ground experiments
Operational procedures
and tools (suppression,
prevention)
Decision Support Systems
and Early Warning Systems
Fire behaviour models
Socio-economic factors for
fire ignition
Fuel mapping and
fuel modelling
Basic Research
• Fire behaviour in mountain forests (fuel
models, fuel mapping, physic models, Ground
experiments)
• Fire ecology
• Fire history in mountain forests (statistics, fire
patterns, etc.)
Operational Management / Guidance
• Training and academic/professional exchange
• Operational procedures and tools (suppression,
prevention)
• Decision Support Systems and Early Warning
Systems
link between research and operational
management
• Fire analysis
• Socio-economic factors for fire ignition
• Fire danger and risk assessment
Thank you for your interest!
Institute of Silviculture
Department of Forest and Soil Sciences
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Ao.Univ. Prof. DI. Dr. MAS (GIS) Harald Vacik
Peter Jordanstr. 82, A-1190 Wien
Tel.: +43 1 47654-4052, Fax: +43 1 47654-4092
E-mail: harald.vacik@boku.ac.at
http: www.wabo.boku.ac.at/affri.html
http: www.alpffirs.eu