Fire spread through cost path analysis in QGIS GRASS
Purpose
The purpose of this Wiki tutorial is to demonstrate a potential use of wildfire modeling tools in QGIS GRASS. The objective of this tutorial is to provide instructions on how to use digital elevation models (DEM) and vegetation data for setting up a cost analyses for wildfire spread in a given area. The process demonstrated in this tutorial would be able to be applied to different areas and different datasets.
Introduction
Materials and methods
Data and available platforms
RASS is a free and open source geographic information system. The current stable version of GRASS is 7.2.2 , and can be downloaded as a stand-alone or as a package; we will be downloading it as a stand-alone. GRASS is available for a variety of platforms including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Various releases for download can be found at the GRASS website.
Digital elevation models (DEM) are used for hydrological analyses. DEMs can be generated using point data sets from elevation data or from aerial imagery using remotely sensed data (NRCAN, 2013). Downloading a point data set would generally require interpolation of the data to create a DEM. Interpolation of a DEM will not be discussed in this tutorial. Instead, we will explore the hydrological toolset using a DEM that has previously been interpolated.
A DEM of the southeastern quadrant of the outskirts of Ottawa, Ontario was used for the purpose of this tutorial. Data were obtained from the GIS Library of Carleton University using a 3-dimensional raster data set from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The data capture terrain elevations and cover the province of Ontario with a cell resolution of 30 cm.
Additional data sources can be found from Natural Resources Canada, Geogratis and from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
