Resumen de Fire intensity and flame characteristics assessment in Mediterranean Forest. Case of Mâamora (NW Morocco)
Forest fires are the main disturbance and the most devastating degradation factor that can affect forested areas, especially in the Mediterranean basin when species are highly flammable and climate conditions are marginal. Morocco which is a Mediterranean country is not spared from this phenomenon, thus 3000 ha of forest are burned every year, and this situation is aggravated by the low rate of regeneration and restoration of the unbalanced ecosystems such as the Mâamora which composed by natural stand of cork oak (Quercus suber), and artificial plantations of eucalyptus, acacia, and different pines. The establishment of an effective forest fire preventing management plan requires an intimate knowledge of fire behavior in Mâamora Forest in order to undertake the appropriate measurements in terms of fuel treatment (clearing, pruning and thinning) and forest equipment (roads, fuel break, lookouts tower and water points). Therefore in this study, at first the parametric equations derived from the calculation code FIRETEC were used to estimate the rate of fire spread, the fire intensity was then calculated using Byram�s formula. Furthermore, the Albini model was used to determine flames height, which is an important parameter for assessing the ability of a fire to evolve within trees canopy. Moreover the spatial dimension has been largely taken into account; the use of GIS (Geographic Information System) has permitted the establishment of several maps such as fire intensity, flammability and flame height. The study highlighted that 35% of Mâamora Forest is occupied by highly flammable vegetation.
Besides it was shown that the maximum rate of fire spread is about 1.28 m/s (4.6 km/h) fire hazards. In addition the study revealed that areas with a high risk of fire spread cover almost 44% of the forest. As for the flame height, it was emphasized that the maximum height approaching 2 m, and areas vulnerable to crown fires represent about 17%.
