Forest Fuel Treatment and Fire Risk Assessment, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Forest fires, which can result from natural or human causes, have harmful and destructive effects, whether directly or indirectly, on human society. It is critical that we use scientific forest fire prevention measures to reduce the economic losses and environmental damage caused by fires. Forest fuels comprise the material basis of fire occurrence. The fuel type, loading, fuel moisture content, and characteristics of spatial distribution are closely related to forest fire behavior. As one of the three elements of forest burning, compared with the other two elements (fire source and fire environment), forest fuels are more easily controlled by humans, and the effectiveness of forest fire prevention can be reasonably evaluated using quantitative means. Effective fuel treatment and reduction can reduce the risk of fire occurrence, increase the stability of forest ecosystems, and improve forest health. Nowadays, forest fire management is facing new challenges in the context of global warming and serious damage to forest ecosystems. Scientific forest fuel treatment is crucial to fire prevention and forest management.

Forest fire risk assessment is also an important part of forest fire prevention. The reasonable classification of fire risk and targeted preventive measures can reduce fire occurrence and loss. Through risk assessment to determine high-fire-risk locations and estimate the impact areas, it could be possible to provide decision support for forest fire prevention and firefighting. The results of forest fire risk assessment have important reference value for the improvement and enhancement of current forest fire prevention measures， as well as policy making.

This Special Issue will explore forest fuel treatment and fire risk assessment, with topics of interest including, but not limited to, the following:

• Methods of forest fuel treatment and reduction;
• Effect of fuel treatment（i.e., thinning, prescribed burning）on fuel loading and fire behavior;
• Quantitative model of estimation for fuel loading;
• Fuel characteristics and flammability evaluation;
• Effect of fuel treatment on plant diversity;
• Climate change and forest fires;
• Forest fire danger prediction;
• Forest fire risk assessment;
• Evaluation of fire control capacity;
• Estimation of fire carbon emissions;
• Effects of fire severity on forest ecosystems.

Dr. Jili Zhang
Dr. Xiaodong Liu
Dr. Mingyu Wang
Dr. Feng Chen
Guest Editors

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