Observatories Establishment for the Prevention of Forest Fires the case of Thasos Island, Greece
Stavros Sakellariou1, Stergios Tampekis2, Fani Samara3, Olga Christopoulou4, Athanassios Sfougaris5
1Stavros Sakellariou, Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
2Stergios Tampekis, Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
3Fani Samara, Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
4Olga Christopoulou, Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
5Athanassios Sfougaris, Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
Manuscript received on 08 December 2015 | Revised Manuscript received on 16 December 2015 | Manuscript Published on 30 December 2015 | PP: 4-12 | Volume-5 Issue-7, December 2015 | Retrieval Number: G2233125715/2015©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Forests are primary providers of fundamental tangible and intangible goods to our planet, from vital chemical substances (O2 ) to more economic issues (wood for economic activity etc.). Hence, for the comprehensive protection of these priceless ecosystems, immediate detection of forest fires is of vital importance, so that the firefighting forces may react in the least possible time before forest fires take large dimensions with unpredictable consequences. Primary aim of the paper is the immediate fire detection through establishing observatories across the entire area of a Greek island, Thasos. Vital objective is the selection of the most efficient observatories in terms of maximizing the visible area as well as their optimal location for avoiding significant degree of overlapping. According to the visibility analysis, the five most efficient observatories in terms of visible area and least degree of overlapping have been selected. In addition, establishing only 5 observatories, we will be able to monitor approximately 42% of the entire study area and its corresponding land cover types. Certainly, the visibility potential could be increased if the firefighting authority decides to establish more than 5 observatories, which means demand of additional financial resources.
Keywords: Forest fires, Fire detection, Visibility analysis, Observatories, GIS, Thasos, Greece
Scope of the Article: Visibility analysis