Guide technique de cartographie et caractérisation des interfaces habitat-forêt dans le contexte risque d'incendie de forêt en Europe méditerranéenne

[Departement_IRSTEA]Territoires [TR1_IRSTEA]SEDYVINInternational audienceThe paper presents the major outcomes of the produced guide. It particularly describes the method developed for mapping WUIs on large areas and at large scale in the European Mediterranean context. The method used remote sensing and spatial analysis tools. Particularly adapted to the French context, it can be easily adapted according specific contexts observed in different European countries. After specifying accurate definition of wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), a WUI typology was based on the combination of four housing configuration types and three natures of horizontal structure of vegetation determined through objective and quantitative criteria. Housing configuration reveals spatial organization of residential dwellings: isolated, scattered, dense clustered and very dense clustered housing. Horizontal structure of vegetation points out the continuous vegetation, the sparse vegetation or the no existing vegetation in contact with houses. Twelve wildland-urban interface types were produced.In parallel a software tool was developed and briefly presented in the paper in order to map WUIs as automatically as possible. The production of WUI maps presents high interest for quantification of the extension of WUIs on the territory, main characteristics of WUIs, assessment and mapping of fire risk levels in WUIs. The main objective of the guide is to help end-users such as land managers, foresters and fire-fighters to locate WUIs on the ground with a view to develop specific actions for wildfires prevention according to WUI types, to create public awareness programs for inhabitants faced with wildfire risk, and to assess fire fighting difficulties due to urbanization