FOREST FIRE SUSCEPTIBILITY ANALYSIS OF KAHRAMANMARAS PROVINCE
FOREST FIRE SUSCEPTIBILITY ANALYSIS OF KAHRAMANMARAS PROVINCE

Summary/Abstract: Kahramanmaras province is located in an area where Mediterranean, Eastern Anatolia and Southeast Anatolia eco-regions are the nearest to each other. Southern regions of the province, in particular, are dominated by Mediterranean climate and correspond to high susceptible areas in terms of forest fires. In this study, the distribution of forest fires in Kahramanmaras province was analyzed based on the outbreak points of 376 forest fires (2012-2017) recorded by Kahramanmaras Regional Directorate of Forestry. This analysis was carried out considering the factors affecting forest fire risk (vegetation, altitude, slope, aspect, temperature, precipitation, distance to settlement, and distance to roads). By using GIS (Geographical Information Systems) techniques and AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) method, fire-susceptible areas were mapped in Kahramanmaras province at the end of the analysis conducted based on the distribution of the number of forest fires by factors that affect fire. Accordingly, 46.2% of Kahramanmaras province are high susceptible to forest fire, 47.6% are very high and 4.1% are extremely susceptible. The moderate susceptible areas are 30.197 ha, accounting for only 2.1% of the province land.

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