Spatial analysis and mapping of fire risk zones and vulnerability assessment: Case study Mt. Stara planina

Abstract

During the turn of the century, the current data of registered fires in Stara planina were insufficient to up date and incomplete, which directly conditioned unintended purpose of prevention and fire protection. With the advent and development of new technologies (remote sensing, GIS, GPS, etc.), since 2010 various data patterns of fire have been collected, recorded, processed and analyzed. Based on the collected and processed data since 2010 preventive measures against fire and better management of natural resources of protected areas have been implemented. The aim of this paper is spatial analysis and mapping of risk zones of fire in Stara planina, consisting of different vegetation cover, the complex structure of the terrain and heterogeneous composition of the soil. In Stara planina, a total of 44505 fires in the open space, in the period from 2010 to 2012, was registered. Cartographic locating, plotting the recorded ''hot spots'' and analyzing topography (aspect, slope, etc) and collected data for this period, the authors identified and zoned endangered belts of Stara planina.