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Abstract

Modelling Cork Oak Woodlands for Wildfire Simulations with WFDS: The Role of Vegetation Spatial Patterns †

by
Yolanda Pérez-Ramirez
1,*,
Anthony Graziani
1,
Paul-Antoine Santoni
1,
Justin Ziegler
2,
Chad Hoffman
2,
William Mell
3,
Virginie Tihay-Felicelli
1 and
Anne Ganteaume
4
1
Laboratoire Sciences Pour l’Environnement (UMR 6134 SPE), University of Corsica, 20250 Corte, France
2
Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
3
Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory, U.S. Forest Service, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
4
Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Aix-Marseille University, RECOVER, 13182 Aix-en-Provence, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the Third International Conference on Fire Behavior and Risk, Sardinia, Italy, 3–6 May 2022.
Environ. Sci. Proc. 2022, 17(1), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022017122
Published: 2 September 2022
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The Third International Conference on Fire Behavior and Risk)
Versions Notes

Research applications of three-dimensional, time-dependent, computational fluid dynamics fire behavior models, such as the Wildland Urban Interface Fire Dynamics Simulator (WFDS) [1,2], FIRETEC [3], or FIRESTAR3D [4], are progressively increasing. This is due to advances in computing capabilities and the potential of these physics-based models to capture the processes involved in fire behavior across a range of scales and conditions. In this regard, they allow consideration of spatially explicit distribution patterns of vegetation, which have a significant influence on wind flow profiles and fire behavior.
Several numerical studies [5,6,7,8,9] have examined the influence of vegetation spatial patterns on wind profiles and/or fire behavior. These studies demonstrate the importance of taking into account the observed heterogeneities in vegetation patterns as well as considering uncertainty when modelling vegetation stands by using statistical models. However, these studies have been focused on forest stands composed by overstorey trees and litter/grass as surface fuels. These forest stands differ from typical fire prone Mediterranean woodlands, which have significant shrub cover.
This study addresses the numerical modelling of cork oak woodlands at a stand scale in wildfire simulations using WFDS. In particular, it investigates how spatial patterns of raised vegetation (i.e., understory shrubs and overstorey trees) in a high-density cork oak stand impact wind/fire dynamics. To this purpose, point process models from spatial statistics have been applied for generating different spatial distribution patterns. For each one of these patterns, different numerical forest scenarios (replicates) have been implemented by using an ensemble-based approach. Simulations were carried out with WFDS at a stand scale with a fine grid resolution. A detailed discussion of the results obtained as well as guidelines for the implementation of numerical forests at stand scale will be provided.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Y.P.-R., A.G. (Anthony Graziani), P.-A.S. and W.M.; methodology, Y.P.-R., J.Z. and C.H.; software, Y.P.-R., A.G. (Anthony Graziani), P.-A.S. and W.M.; validation, Y.P.-R., A.G. (Anthony Graziani), and P.-A.S.; formal analysis, Y.P.-R., A.G. (Anthony Graziani) and P.-A.S.; investigation, Y.P.-R., A.G. (Anthony Graziani) and P.-A.S.; resources, J.Z., C.H., V.T.-F. and A.G. (Anne Ganteaume); data curation, Y.P.-R.; writing—original draft preparation, Y.P.-R.; writing—review and editing, Y.P.-R., A.G. (Anthony Graziani), P.-A.S., J.Z., C.H., W.M., V.T.-F. and A.G. (Anne Ganteaume); visualization, Y.P.-R.; supervision, P.-A.S.; project administration, P.-A.S. and W.M.; funding acquisition, P.-A.S. and W.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The stand scale simulations of this research have been supported by the project “Structure Heat Exposure—Simulations and Experiments”, contract number 21-IJ-11261987-002, funded by the USDA (US Forest Service).

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

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  2. Mell, W.E.; Maranghides, A.; McDermott, R.; Manzello, S. Numerical simulation and experiments of burning Douglas fir trees. Combust Flame 2009, 156, 2023–2041. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  3. Linn, R.R.; Reisner, J.; Colman, J.J.; Winterkamp, J. Studying wildfire behavior using FIRETEC. Int. J. Wildland Fire 2002, 11, 233–246. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. Morvan, D.; Accary, G.; Meradji, S.; Frangieh, N.; Bessonov, O. A 3D physical model to study the behavior of vegetation fires at laboratory scale. Fire Saf. J. 2018, 101, 39–52. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  5. Parsons, R.A.; Linn, R.R. Numerical Investigation of aggregated fuel spatial pattern impacts on fire behavior. Land 2017, 6, 43. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
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  7. Ziegler, J.P.; Hoffman, C.M.; Collins, B.M.; Long, J.W.; Dagley, C.M.; Mell, W. Simulated Fire Behavior and Fine-Scale Forest Structure Following Conifer Removal in Aspen-Conifer Forests in the Lake Tahoe Basin, USA. Fire 2020, 3, 51. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  8. Ziegler, J.P.; Hoffman, C.M.; Battaglia, M.; Mell, W. Spatially explicit measurements of forest structure and fire behavior following restoration treatments in dry forests. For. Ecol Manag. 2017, 386, 1–12. [Google Scholar]
  9. Marshall, G.; Thompson, D.K.; Anderson, K.; Simpson, B.; Linn, R.; Schroeder, D. The Impact of Fuel Treatments on Wildfire Behavior in North American Boreal Fuels: A Simulation Study Using FIRETEC. Fire 2020, 3, 18. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
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MDPI and ACS Style

Pérez-Ramirez, Y.; Graziani, A.; Santoni, P.-A.; Ziegler, J.; Hoffman, C.; Mell, W.; Tihay-Felicelli, V.; Ganteaume, A. Modelling Cork Oak Woodlands for Wildfire Simulations with WFDS: The Role of Vegetation Spatial Patterns. Environ. Sci. Proc. 2022, 17, 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022017122

AMA Style

Pérez-Ramirez Y, Graziani A, Santoni P-A, Ziegler J, Hoffman C, Mell W, Tihay-Felicelli V, Ganteaume A. Modelling Cork Oak Woodlands for Wildfire Simulations with WFDS: The Role of Vegetation Spatial Patterns. Environmental Sciences Proceedings. 2022; 17(1):122. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022017122

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pérez-Ramirez, Yolanda, Anthony Graziani, Paul-Antoine Santoni, Justin Ziegler, Chad Hoffman, William Mell, Virginie Tihay-Felicelli, and Anne Ganteaume. 2022. "Modelling Cork Oak Woodlands for Wildfire Simulations with WFDS: The Role of Vegetation Spatial Patterns" Environmental Sciences Proceedings 17, no. 1: 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022017122

APA Style

Pérez-Ramirez, Y., Graziani, A., Santoni, P. -A., Ziegler, J., Hoffman, C., Mell, W., Tihay-Felicelli, V., & Ganteaume, A. (2022). Modelling Cork Oak Woodlands for Wildfire Simulations with WFDS: The Role of Vegetation Spatial Patterns. Environmental Sciences Proceedings, 17(1), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022017122

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