Spatio-temporal analysis of human-caused fire occurrence patterns in spain

Laburpena

Abstract The main objective of this thesis is to identify, analyze and characterize the spatio-temporal patterns of the human-caused fires in Spain. For this purpose, we have analyzed the factors that determine the amount of resources deployed in extinguishing fires and the patterns of wildfire occurrence. The number of deployed resources increases in large and crown fires, and decreases in multiple-fire days, but although this behavior changes by regions. To minimize and control their effects, I analyzed the predictive models found in bibliography, establishing similarities and differences of their occurrence worldwide. In terms of landscape patterns, the highest human-caused fire occurrence is linked to diverse land uses, compact patches and short perimeters. Fires are aggregated at maximum space-time structures around 4 km and 6 months, but depends on temperature, precipitation and human presence.