Simulation of forest fires behaviour in different terrains of India: a case study of Uttarakhand and Maharashtra
Student name: Ms Ankita Sharma
Guide: Dr Bakim Chandra Oinam
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC), WWF-India, New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr G. Areendran
Abstract: Forest Fires have become intense and more frequent in the past few decades, all
over the world. The profound impacts forest fires have on atmospheric
chemistry, biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem structure have led to the need
to understand their behavior. Mapping forest fire is very important for
biodiversity conservation and wildlife conservation.
The primary aim of the study was to simulate forest fire spread in two different
regions of India with a different elevation and vegetation type and to assess the
effect of parameters such as topography, vegetation, wind, and weather on the
fire spread. FARSITE model is used to compute this simulation. Forest fuel map
was generated using Hyperion Eo1. Canopy Cover map was generated using
Landsat ETM+ multispectral image. Aster Dem with resolution of 30 meters was
used to create elevation, slope and aspect maps. Weather data i.e. temperature,
humidity and precipitation were also incorporated. Wind speed and direction are
also major parameters for the fire simulation which are also included to study the
fire spread.
The results showed area under fire in Study Site 2 Garhchiroli (Maharashtra) was
comparatively much more than that of Study Site 2 Dehradun (Uttarakhand),
even when the numbers of ignitions were more in Dehradun. Parameters like
topography, wind speed, wind direction played an important role in the deciding
the direction of fire spread.
Keywords: Forest fires, Fire behaviour, Hyperion EO-1, Landsat, FARSITE.
