Forest Fires - Causes, Detection and Impact on Forest Ecosystems

摘要

In recent years, globally, more and more attention is given to maintaining strong, balanced, healthy forest ecosystems, able to perform with maximum of efficiency the purpose for which they have been created. Forest fires have a special role within the complex risk factors, with direct influence on them. The causes of the forest fires are mainly due to human interventions and less to natural phenomena. The fire setting and extending are conditioned by the simultaneous presence of three factors: fuel material, oxygen and fire source. In forest ecosystems, fuel material and oxygen can be found in excess, so that we approached rather the fire setting factor. Fire detection, especially in the initial phase, and its signalizing can reduce the damages and localizing costs very much. In this respect, we present in this article a variant of fire detection and of warning the competent authorities by modern informatics methods (using sensors, computers, etc.). In order to establish the locations of the sensors we analyzed all the fires in Cluj County. All data regarding their evolution during 2000 - 2012 were centralized. The data refer to forest areas from Cluj County, but the causes of the fire ignition were observed in the neighboring counties, too.