LIFE ArcFUEL: Mediterranean fuel-type maps geodatabase for wildland & forest fire safety

Abstract

ArcFUEL [1] is a LIFE+ Project that involves six European Partners with the objective of producing updated fuel maps to be used in forest fire management operations and geoplatforms. The ArcFUEL project delivers a complete, up-to-date, methodology for Fuel Classification Mapping (FCM on a Web-Geodatabase) based on “readily available” data, harmonized, accessible and interoperable according to INSPIRE principles, for the Mediterranean Region. This paper outlines the: (i) history of the Fuel Classification Maps (FCMs), (ii) the problem targeted in fuel mapping, (iv) the significance of FCMs for Forest Fire (FF) Management, (v) the ex-novo ArcFUEL methodology developed within the project, (vi) two case studies applied in Spain and Portugal, (vii) the field validation process and (viii) the final results derived from the project.