Fire fuel connectivity in the WUI determined from lidar

Wildland fires in western Canada are increasing in intensity and the area burned due to extensive climate warming and drying. This has caused fires to become less predictable for fire management agencies, with up to $1 billion per year spent on fire mitigation strategies. As such, the methods used for fire reduction in Canada in the past are not appropriate for the current state of forests and urban encroachment into the wildland-urban interface. The combination of structural fuel attributes surrounding urban areas offers an opportunity for the intern to lead a project on wildland fire fuel connectivity adjacent to communities surrounded by three of Canada’s iconic montane national parks: Waterton, Banff, and Jasper using airborne lidar and field data. The objectives are to: a) use airborne lidar data to develop methods for classifying and quantifying fuel connectivity; and b) Quantify the spatial distribution and variability of fuel connectivity surrounding the WUI for each town and to compare between slope aspect (Waterton), in recently fire managed forests (Banff), and forests impacted by mountain pine beetle (Jasper). In addition, the intern will have an opportunity to conduct her own fieldwork within a team of students…

Faculty Supervisor:

Laura Chasmer

Student:

Partner:

CESI École d'ingénieurs

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Environmental Science and Technology; Forestry; Sustainability & the Environment

University:

University of Lethbridge

Program: