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The global wildland-urban interface.

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The wildland-urban interface (WUI), where buildings meet vegetation, is a global phenomenon. This study maps the WUI, revealing it impacts billions and requires understanding for future wildfire risks.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science, Geography, Remote Sensing, Urban Planning

Background:

  • The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is a critical zone of human-environmental interaction, posing risks like wildfire, habitat loss, and disease spread.
  • Previous global analyses of the WUI were lacking, hindering a comprehensive understanding of its extent and impact.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To create a high-resolution global map of the WUI for the year 2020.
  • To identify global WUI hotspots and analyze population density, land cover, and biomass variations within these areas.
  • To assess the proportion of populations living in the WUI and near wildfire events.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a globally consistent and validated approach using remote sensing-derived datasets.
  • Utilized 10m resolution data for building area and wildland vegetation mapping.
  • Analysis of population distribution and proximity to wildfires (2003-2020).

Main Results:

  • The WUI is a global phenomenon, covering 4.7% of land but housing 3.5 billion people (nearly half the global population).
  • Identified numerous previously undocumented WUI hotspots with diverse population densities, land covers, and biomass levels.
  • Europe (15% of land area) and temperate broadleaf/mixed forests (18%) show widespread WUI. Two-thirds of people near wildfires live in the WUI, with 150 million in Africa.

Conclusions:

  • The WUI is a significant and widespread global feature with substantial human populations at risk.
  • Climate change-induced increases in wildfire activity necessitate understanding housing growth and vegetation patterns within the WUI.
  • This global WUI map provides a crucial baseline for future research, policy, and risk management strategies.