Uncovering current pyroregions in Italy using wildfire metrics

Abstract

Background: Pyrogeography is a major field of investigation in wildfire science because of its capacity to describe the spatial and temporal variations of fire disturbance. We propose a systematic pyrogeographic analytical approach to cluster regions on the basis of their pyrosimilarities. We employed the Affinity Propagation algorithm to cluster pyroregions using Italian landscape as a test bed and its current wildfire metrics in terms of density, seasonality and stand replacing fire ratio. A discussion follows on how pyrogeography varies according to differences in the human, biophysical, socioeconomic, and climatic spheres. Results: The algorithm identified seven different pyroregion clusters. Two main gradients were identified that partly explain the variability of wildfire metrics observed in the current pyroregions. First, a gradient characterized by increasing temperatures and exposure to droughts, which coincides with a decreasing latitude, and second, a human pressure gradient displaying increasing population density in areas at lower elevation. These drivers exerted a major influence on wildfire density, burnt area over available fuels and stand replacing, which were associated to warm-dry climate and high human pressure. The study statistically highlighted the importance of a North–South gradient, which represents one of the most important drivers of wildfire regimes resulting from the variations in climatic conditions but showing collinearity with socioeconomic aspects as well. Conclusion: Our fully replicable analytical approach can be applied at multiple scales and used for the entire European continent to uncover new and larger pyroregions. This could create a basis for the European Commission to promote innovative and collaborative funding programs between regions that demonstrate pyrosimilarities.