A review of wildland fire spread modelling, 1990-present 3: Mathematical analogues and simulation models

TL;DR

This paper critically reviews simulation and mathematical analogue models of wildland fire spread developed since 1990, highlighting their methods, extensions, and role in landscape fire modeling.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of simulation and mathematical analogue models, distinguishing their approaches and developments within the context of fire spread modeling since 1990.

Findings

Most models are extensions of pre-1990 work

Simulation models convert 1D models to 2D landscapes

Mathematical analogue models simulate fire spread without physical basis

Abstract

In recent years, advances in computational power and spatial data analysis (GIS, remote sensing, etc) have led to an increase in attempts to model the spread and behvaiour of wildland fires across the landscape. This series of review papers endeavours to critically and comprehensively review all types of surface fire spread models developed since 1990. This paper reviews models of a simulation or mathematical analogue nature. Most simulation models are implementations of existing empirical or quasi-empirical models and their primary function is to convert these generally one dimensional models to two dimensions and then propagate a fire perimeter across a modelled landscape. Mathematical analogue models are those that are based on some mathematical conceit (rather than a physical representation of fire spread) that coincidentally simulates the spread of fire. Other papers in the series review models of an physical or quasi-physical nature and empirical or quasi-empirical nature. Many models are extensions or refinements of models developed before 1990. Where this is the case, these models are also discussed but much less comprehensively.