title: A system to evaluate fire impacts from simulated fire behavior in Mediterranean areas of Central Chile.
abstract: Wildfires constitute the greatest economic disruption to Mediterranean ecosystems, from a socio-economic and ecological perspective (Molina et al., 2014). This study proposes to classify fire intensity levels based on potential fire behavior in different types of Mediterranean vegetation types, using two geographical scales. The study considered >4 thousand wildfires over a period of 25years, identifying fire behavior on each event, based on simulations using "KITRAL", a model developed in Chile in 1993 and currently used in the entire country. Fire intensity values allowed results to be classified into six fire effects categories (levels), each of them with field indicators linking energy values with damage related to burned vegetation and wildland urban interface zone. These indicators also facilitated a preliminary assessment of wildfire impact on different Mediterranean land uses and, are therefore, a useful tool to prioritize future interventions.
authors.affiliation: Fire Management Laboratory, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Nature Conservation, University of Chile, P. Box 9206, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: migcasti@uchile.cl.
authors.forename: Miguel E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.affiliation: Fire Management Laboratory, School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Cordoba, Leonardo da Vinci Building, Rabanales Campus, 14071 Cordoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: Fire Management Laboratory, School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Cordoba, Leonardo da Vinci Building, Rabanales Campus, 14071 Cordoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Y Silva
authors.affiliation: International Hydrology Research Group, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Nature Conservancy, University of Chile; Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Arizona, United States; International Hydrological Programme (International Sediment Initiative and Water and Forests Program), United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Uruguay.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: García-Chevesich
authors.affiliation: International Hydrology Research Group, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Nature Conservancy, University of Chile.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garfias
keywords: Wildfire behavior; Wildfire intensity; Wildfire simulation