Browsing by Author "Benali, A."
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- A method to produce a flexible and customized fuel models datasetPublication . Sá, A.C.L.; Benali, A.; Aparicio, B.A.; Bruni, C.; Mota, C.; Pereira, J.M.C.; Fernandes, P.M.Simulation of vegetation fires very often resorts to fire-behavior models that need fuel models as input. The lack of fuel models is a common problem for researchers and fire managers because its quality depends on the quality/availability of data. In this study we present a method that combines expert- and research-based knowledge with several sources of data (e.g. satellite and fieldwork) to produce customized fuel models maps. Fuel model classes are assigned to land cover types to produce a basemap, which is then updated using empirical and user-defined rules. This method produces a map of surface fuel models as detailed as possible. It is reproducible, and its flexibility relies on juxtaposing independent spatial datasets, depending on their quality or availability. This method is developed in a ModelBuilder/ArcGis toolbox named FUMOD that integrates ten sub-models. FUMOD has been used to map the Portuguese annual fuel models grids since 2019, supporting regional fire risk assessments and suppression decisions. Datasets, models and supplementary files are available in a repository (https://github.com/anasa30/PT_ FuelModels).
- Wildfires in Europe: Burned soils require attentionPublication . Vieira, D.C.S.; Borrelli, P.; Jahanianfard, D.; Benali, A.; Scarpa, S.Annually, millions of hectares of land are affected by wildfires worldwide, disrupting ecosystems functioning by affecting on-site vegetation, soil, and above- and belowground biodiversity, but also triggering erosive off-site impacts such as water-bodies contamination or mudflows. Here, we present a soil erosion assessment following the 2017’s wildfires at the European scale, including an analysis of vegetation recovery and soil erosion mitigation potential. Results indicate a sharp increase in soil losses with 19.4 million Mg additional erosion in the first post-fire year when compared to unburned conditions. Over five years, 44 million Mg additional soil losses were estimated, and 46% of the burned area presented no signs of full recovery. Post-fire mitigation could attenuate these impacts by 63–77%, reducing soil erosion to background levels by the 4th post-fire year. Our insights may help identifying target policies to reduce land degradation, as identified in the European Union Soil, Forest, and Biodiversity strategies.Annually, millions of hectares of land are affected by wildfires worldwide, disrupting ecosystems functioning by affecting on-site vegetation, soil, and above- and belowground biodiversity, but also triggering erosive off-site impacts such as water-bodies contamination or mudflows. Here, we present a soil erosion assessment following the 2017’s wildfires at the European scale, including an analysis of vegetation recovery and soil erosion mitigation potential. Results indicate a sharp increase in soil losses with 19.4 million Mg additional erosion in the first post-fire year when compared to unburned conditions. Over five years, 44 million Mg additional soil losses were estimated, and 46% of the burned area presented no signs of full recovery. Post-fire mitigation could attenuate these impacts by 63–77%, reducing soil erosion to background levels by the 4th post-fire year. Our insights may help identifying target policies to reduce land degradation, as identified in the European Union Soil, Forest, and Biodiversity strategies.