Forest fire hazard zoning in Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Abstract This work aimed to map areas of forest fire risk in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Study area is located in Brazilian Midwest region. Defined risk factors were: land-use, vegetation, slope, terrain orientation, proximity to roads and trails, altitude, precipitation, water deficit, evapotranspiration and temperature. Generated risk map was validated by overlapping it with fire occurrence points. It was observed that the highest risks of forest fires in Mato Grosso State are distributed in central and south / southwest regions. The majority of Mato Grosso area possesses high to extreme fire occurrence risk (55.76%). Adopted methodology was accurate in zoning fire risk in the evaluated area. Forest fire risk zoning provides subsidies for planning preventive and forest firefighting actions in the state. This methodology can be applied to other Brazilian or global regions.