CHARACTERIZING FUELS AND QUANTIFYING WILDFIRE RISK IN SUBTROPICAL HONG KONG
Seminars
Summer Semester
Over 4800 human-ignited wildfires occurred from 2010 to 2025 in Hong Kong’s natural areas, reducing biodiversity and hindering forest rehabilitation. Ongoing climate change is projected to bring drier and warmer dry seasons, increasing wildfire risk. Despite long-term wildfire occurrences, no previous work had quantified future wildfire risk under climate change. A major component of wildfire risk is fuel availability, yet there is no information on fuel conditions in Hong Kong. To assess future wildfire risk and characterize fuels, I modeled future wildfire risk using a meteorological index and characterized fuels using both destructive sampling and LiDAR. My results were threefold. First, my future wildfire risk projections showed overall increases in annual wildfire risk. Second, I developed novel fine fuel characterizations for grassland, shrubland, and secondary forests. Third, although my LiDAR-derived fuel loads were not correlated with field measurements, LiDAR measured fuel load provided a method for calculating vegetation volume that was timelier and less labor intensive than destructive sampling. Overall, understanding wildfire risk and fuels in Hong Kong supports vigilance against fire ignition, forest restoration, and equips land managers with information to target high-risk areas for fuel management and wildfire mitigation efforts.
For additional information, please contact Miss Katherine STRATTMAN, u3007888@connect.hku.hk.