The Multicriteria GIS Tool

As a Decision Support System to Plan Prescribed Burning

In the case of emergency management or planning, GIS tools can be used as a decision-aid system by means of providing information to enhance decision-making tasks. A geographic information system (GIS) captures, stores, analyzes, retrieves, manages, and displays data that is linked to geographic information. GIS applications are thus tools that allow users to create interactive queries, analyze spatial information, edit data, maps, and present the results of all these operations. Hence, in its simplest term, GIS is the merging of cartography and database technology. The multicriteria GIS tool, as related to Fire Paradox project and developed by Omikron Ltd (Environment and Public Works Design, Study and Management), will produce maps for Prescribed Burning (PB).

Product's leader

Antonis Mantzavelas
Antonis MANTZAVELAS

Who will be interested in this product and why?

The GIS tool addresses the need for decision support in the case of Prescribed Burning planning. Thus, we believe that people involved in PB planning or PB practice (Landowners, Forest manager, Fire professionals) are potential users of the product.

What are the innovative features?

The tool provides a fast computation of potential prescribed burning treatments in a geographic area, using multiple criteria as input. Furthermore, the tool allows for an assessment of the impact of the proposed PB treatments on the reduction of fire hazard in the analysis area.

How does it serve the European cause and promotes the philosophy of Fire Paradox?

The application of the GIS tool will support the optimisation of PB operations, by the assessment of the impact of different treatment scenarios in fire hazard reduction. Thus it will strengthen the motivation for PB use in Europe and elsewhere as a means for reducing fire hazard. The promotion of the use of prescribed burning is among the main elements of the “Wise use of fire” as implied by the Fire Paradox project.


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General objectives

The main aims are to enhance existing operational level of prescribed burning and to assist in decision-making concerning actions, which will decrease the level of fire risk.

The main functionalities based upon multiple built-in criteria aim to:
- integrate geographic and environmental data relevant to PB,
- record PB actions and their impacts,
- identify and map PB possible locations,
- produce maps.

Innovative aspects

This multi-criteria GIS tool integrates geographic and environmental data and prescribed burning practices in a geo-referenced environment. The tool provides a fast computation of potential prescribed burning treatments in a geographic area, using multiple criteria as input. Furthermore, the tool allows for an assessment of the impact of the proposed PB treatments on the reduction of fire hazard in the analysis area.

Major results

The GIS tool:

- integrates geographic and environmental data and prescribed burning practices in a geo-referenced environment;
- plans PB operations after geographic and environmental data inputs (elevation data, fuel models, location of settlements and WUI, location of areas with high fire potential, location of protected areas etc) and user specified criteria;
- assesses the impact of the proposed PB treatments on the reduction of fire hazard in the analysis area.

The Multicriteria GIS Tool Screenshot


The Multicriteria GIS Tool
Fig. 1: Multicriteria GIS tool to plan Prescribed Burning





The Multicriteria GIS Tool - http//www.fireparadox.org

Online Multimedia Plateform : Prototype