Advancements in Forest Fire Prevention: A Comprehensive Survey

Abstract

Nowadays, the challenges related to technological and environmental development are becoming increasingly complex. Among the environmentally significant issues, wildfires pose a serious threat to the global ecosystem. The damages inflicted upon forests are manifold, leading not only to the destruction of terrestrial ecosystems but also to climate changes. Consequently, reducing their impact on both people and nature requires the adoption of effective approaches for prevention, early warning, and well-coordinated interventions. This document presents an analysis of the evolution of various technologies used in the detection, monitoring, and prevention of forest fires from past years to the present. It highlights the strengths, limitations, and future developments in this field. Forest fires have emerged as a critical environmental concern due to their devastating effects on ecosystems and the potential repercussions on the climate. Understanding the evolution of technology in addressing this issue is essential to formulate more effective strategies for mitigating and preventing wildfires.

Keywords: UAV; aerial; artificial intelligence; deep learning; fire detection; satellite; sensors; terrestrial.

Figure 1

An overview of the main techniques for fire monitoring and detection.

Figure 2

Different topologies of wireless sensor network architectures. (a) Topology based on dense distribution of environmental sensors; (b) Topology based on dense distribution of wireless sensors in addition to wireless cameras; (c) Classifier based on the combination of different inputs; (d) Data classifier based on sensor values and alert management.

Figure 3

Layout for the distribution of sensor nodes. (a) Typical square layout with 4 sensor nodes per cluster; (b) Sensor distribution for coverage area.

Figure 4

IR Camera data from UAV.