The document describes a field survey conducted in Greece to validate a forest fuel map created by the ArcFUEL project. The survey involved visiting random points across Greece to check the accuracy of the ArcFUEL map's fuel type classifications. Field data was collected using a mobile app and uploaded to an online database. The initial validation results found 80.59% accuracy. The validated map and field data will support wildfire modeling and fuel management in Greece.

1. ArcFUEL:
Fielld survey for
validating Arcfuel
map in Greece
George Eftychidis, I.Mitsopoulos
ALGOSYSTEMS S.A.
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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2. Need and approach
Prerequisite for forest fire modeling and simulation
Need of maps for fire and fuel management
Currently existing fuel maps









Are ad-hoc maps (no update) at local or regional scale
Derived using different methodologies and data sets
Aren’t validated (data quality control, accuracy)
No harmonization and standardization
Fuel modeling gap (fuel parameters)
Cooperation with the JRC (Fuelmap, JRC forest fuel
scheme)
Cooperation with INSPIRE working committee
The purpose
Support creation of national forest fuel maps
Provide a consistent and documented methodology
EU-wide applicability
Suitable for supporting fire management tasks
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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3. ArcFuel-JRC fuel types association
Association
with Density
cover data
Association
with the
basic JRC
Fuel Types
Sub-classes
Scrub
Evergreen
Broadleaved
Open
Dense
Scrub
Deciduous
Open
Dense
Scrub
Evergreen
Open
Dense
Main classes
Evergre
en
Transitional
forests
Broadleaved
forests
Subclasses
Association with the
basic JRC Fuel Types
Transitional forests
Open
Mixed forests
Dense
Mixed
Scrub
Deciduo
us
Transitional
forests
Open
Transitional forests
Mixed forests
Dense
Broadleaved
forests
Transitional
forests
Coniferous
forests
Association with
Density cover data
Scrub
Main classes
Shrubs
Surface fuels
Surface fuels
Grasses
Coniferous
Scrub
Deciduous
Open
Transitional
forests
Groundfuels
Ground fuels
Azonicfuels
Dense
Coniferous
forests
Otherfuels
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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4. JRC Forest fuel type scheme
2 Wooded peatbogs
SURFACE FUELS
3A
5 Mediterranean grasslands and steppes
6 Temperate, Alpine and Northern grasslands
7 Mediterranean moors and heathlands
Temperate, Alpine and Northern moors and
8 heathlands
9 Mediterranean open shrublands (sclerophylous)
10 Mediterranean shrublands (sclerophylous)
Deciduous broadleaved shrublands
11 (thermophilous)
12 Alpine open shrublands (conifers)
3B
39
4
40
Riparian vegetation
Coastal and inland halophytic vegetation and
dunes
41
42
OTHER
FUELS
TRANSITIONAL FORESTS
1 Peat bogs
3 Pastures
4 Sparse grasslands
2
Group
name
Aquatic Marshes
Agroforestry areas
F
U
E
L
S
P
O
T
E
N
T
I
A
L
L
Y
I
N
V
O
L
V
I
N
G
FT No
C
A
N
O
P
Y
Fuel type name
13
Shrublands in Mediterranean conifer forests
14
Shrublands in Mediterranean sclerophylous forests
15
16
Shrublands in Mediterranean montane conifer forests
Shrublands in thermophilous broadleaved forests
17
18
19
Shrublands in beech and mesophytic broadleaved forests
Northern open shrublands in broadleaved forests
Shrublands in Alpine and Northern conifer forests
Mediterranean long needled conifer forest (mediterranean
pines)
Mediterranean scale-needled open woodlands (juniperus,
cupressus)
Mediterranean montane long needled conifer forest (black and
scots pines)
Mediterranean montane short needled conifer forest (firs,
cedar)
Alpine long needled conifer forest (pines)
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CONIFEROUS FORESTS
GROUND
FUELS
Grou
p No
BROAD LEAVED
FORESTS
1
Fuel type name
MIXED FORESTS
Group
FT
Group name
No
No
21
22
23
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Alpine short needled conifer forest (fir, alp. spruce)
Northern long needled conifer forest (scots pine)
Northern short needled conifer forest (spruce)
Mediterranean evergreen broadleaved forest
Thermophilous broadleaved forest
Mesophytic broadleaved forest
Beech forest
Montane beech forest
White birch boreal forest
Mixed mediterranean evergreen broadleaved with conifers
forest
36
Mixed thermophylous broadleaved with conifers forest
37
38
Mixed mesophytic broadleaved with conifers forest
Mixed beech with conifers forest
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
4

5. Forest fuels map creation
3 fuels
6 fuels
Deciduous
Broadleaved
+
Evergreen
X
Mixed
18 fuels
Deciduous
Scrub
X
20 fuels
+
Open
Grass
Shrubs
22 fuels
+
Ground
Azonic
Close
Environmental zone
(Ecoregion)
1 Alpine North
2 Boreal
3 Nemoral
4 Atlantic North
5 Alpine South
6 Continental
7 Atlantic Central
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Environmental zone
(Ecoregion)
Pannonic – Pontic
Lusitanian
Anatolian
Mediterranean Mountain
Mediterranean North
Mediterranean South
Mediterranean East
Black sea
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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6. ArcFuel draft map of Greece
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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7. Ground truth survey
Field validation methodology test in Central Portugal
Refinements to the methodology
Training in the field
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
7

8. Field data collection
Id
Xcoord
Xcoord
Arcfuel_nm
Arcfuel_
cd
0
2783766.66
2077139.93
Deciduous Broadleaved Dense
forest
6
1
2784266.66
2077139.93
Evergreen Coniferous Dense
forest
9
2
2781766.66
2077639.93
No wildland fuels
0
3
2782266.66
2077639.93
Shrubs
Validation
(yes/no)
19
Real_FC
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
Photos
8

9. Map validation with LUCAS dataset
The Land use/cover area frame statistical survey (LUCAS) is a
European field survey program funded and executed by Eurostat. It
provides coherent and harmonized statistics on land use and land
cover in the European Union for the year 2009.
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
9

10. ArcFUEL field validation methodology
Use of LUCAS data set
(conflicting points with
ArcFuel)
Selection of random points
(number according to the
area extent of the region and
its distribution into fuel types
as well as accessibility ie
distance from road -<300m
and slope <30%)
Typical fuel type areas
along field survey paths
Greece: 1288 check points
298 points visited
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
10

11. Field survey methodology
• Creation of a list of points to visit/Region
 Crete, Central Greece, Macedonia and Thrace, Western Greece)
• Define a routing plan for visiting the POIs
• Use GPS routing application for visiting the POIs
• Data collection forms filled on site
• Data uploaded to a server
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
11

12. Data collection mobile app
A mobile forest fuel survey application (Android)
developed (available in Google Play) for collecting field
data to test the accuracy and quality of the ArcFUEL map.
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
12

13. ArcFUEL map field validation in Greece
Validation methodology to be finalized
13

14. On line data base of filed survey data
14

15. Field data analysis
First validation of Arcfuel map
(overall accuracy 80.59%)
Arcfuel pilots data online data
base
Quality management and
analysis of DB content
Final tuning and refinement of
the map content
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
15

16. FCM Production-Greece
(ArcFuel forest fuel map)
Input for
 Shrubs fuel type (low and tall shrubs)
 Density class validation
 Data base supporting supervised
classification in the future
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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17. Fuel modeling task
Correspondence JRC-ArcFuel types
The final ArcFUEL Forest Fuel Classes Map
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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18. Fuel modeling task
Correspondence JRC-ArcFuel types
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
18

19. Shrub Group
fuel modeling
19

20. ArcFuel exploitation
ArcFuel methodology can be easily applied by forest
and fire services for large-scale mapping in other
regions
Use of ArcFuel tools (mobile app, online fuels DB,
geoportal) for fuel mapping purposes
ArcFuel map can be used as draft input for prevention
and pre-suppression planning in large areas
Test ArcFuel maps with forest fire simulators
The map can be further improved for local operational
use with field data (or other available vegetation
maps) as regards
 Forest understory (vertical structure of forest)
 Shrubs categories (Tall/Low shrubs)
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21. Thank you for your attention
ArcFUEL Final Workshop “Forest Fires: Fuel mapping in the Mediterranean countries”
18 December 2013, Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
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