Cartography of wildfire hazards in Northeast Algeria: The Tarf province as a case study

Abstract

This paper examines the risk space of wildfires in the forest of the province of El Tarf (North-East of Algeria). Wildfires have been a nation-wide concern for more than a decade, and the various actions taken to prevent and suppress them did not result in a significant drop both in their number or the decrease of the burnt area. As measures of punctual treatment of the visible symptoms of wildfires had reached their limits, this research aims at designing new forms of operational maps to be used for the management of forest lands in order to reduce the number and the impact of wildfires. Earth observation satellite data associated with different types of forest fire information, once integrated into a geographic information system, are reliable to identify risky areas and to map the extent of wildfires. The geographical database compiled in this work is an extremely useful tool for understanding and monitoring wildfires and will provide managers and decision takers with valid arguments to justify their decisions.