Informatics Publishing Limited

Mathew K. Jacob ¹, Tarun K. Pal ², V. Sunil Kumar ¹, L. J. Archana ¹, R. K. Sreelatha ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Geology, S.N.College, Varkala, Pin: 695145, IN
2 Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700053, IN

Abstract

The Neogene succession, located along the southern coastal stretches of Kerala is represented by the sediments belonging to the Vaikom Formation, Quilon Formation, and the Warkalli Formation (Poulose and Narayanaswamy, 1968; Varadarajan and Madhavan Nair, 1978; Raha et al, 1983, Soman, 1997). These sediments are dated as post Paleocene (Dey, 1962). The Quilon beds bear an important position in Indian stratigraphy as these present evidence of marine transgression along the south-west coast of India during Miocene, similar to the sort of marine deposits along northwestern and western parts of Indian subcontinent (Verma, 1977).

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P. G. Vinod ¹, R. S. Ajin ¹, Mathew K. Jacob ²

Affiliations
1 Geomatics Division, GeoVin Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, IN
2 Post Graduate Department of Geology, Sree Narayana College, Sivagiri, Kerala, IN

Abstract

Forest fires are of common occurrence in parts of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in the central western slopes of Western Ghats, especially during the months from February to April. They pose great threat to forest vegetation, animal life and scattered human settlements. The present study aims to demarcate forest fire risk zones in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala state using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. This study considers human related factors as well as environmental factors. The factors selected for the study are land use/land cover, distance from settlement, distance from road, slope, and elevation. The thematic maps are prepared using ArcGIS 9.3 and ERDAS Imagine 9.2 software tools. A Fire Risk Index model is used to prepare the forest fire risk zone map. In the prepared map, the area has been classified into three categories viz., high, moderate, and low risk zones. Analyses of the primary data related to previous incidences of forest fires in this area have validated the reliability of the application of this methodology. The GIS based forest fire risk prone area zonation therefore appears to be valid. Thus the present methodology can be used effectively in mitigation of forest fires, rehabilitation and restoration programs.

Keywords

Forest Fire, Western Ghats, Fire Risk Index, Mitigation.

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