Skip to main content

FRAMES logo
Resource Catalog

Document

Type: Journal Article
Author(s): Colin J. Ferster; Nicholas C. Coops; Howard W. Harshaw; Robert A. Kozak; Michael J. Meitner
Publication Date: December 2013

Wildfire management in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) protects property and life from wildland fire. One approach that has potential to provide information about the amount and location of fuels to forest managers and, at the same time, increase public knowledge and engagement in reducing wildfire threats is public participation in scientific research (PPSR) -- also known as citizen science -- where members of the public participate in the research process. In this exploratory study, residents of a wildfire-affected community tested a smartphone application to collect data about forest fuels and answered questions about wildfire, their community, and experiences using the application. In this paper, the application is introduced, the volunteers' motivations, attitudes, and behaviors are considered, and the potential of using a PPSR approach for wildfire management discussed. Although there are practical challenges to applying PPSR approaches to wildfire hazard management, the participants in this study demonstrated the potential of PPSR to increase awareness and understanding of actions that can reduce the threat of wildfire. Wildfire managers may consider utilizing PPSR approaches to engage the community in wildfire preparedness.

Citation: Ferster, C. J., N. C. Coops, H. W. Harshaw, R. A. Kozak, and M. J. Meitner. 2013. An exploratory assessment of a smartphone application for public participation in forest fuels measurement in the wildland-urban interface. Forests, v. 4, no. 4, p. 1199-1219. 10.3390/f4041199.

Cataloging Information

Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    International    National
Keywords:
  • British Columbia
  • Canada
  • citizen science
  • fire management
  • forest management
  • public participation in scientific research
  • remote sensing
  • smartphones
  • wildfire management
  • wildfires
Tall Timbers Record Number: 29596Location Status: Not in fileCall Number: AvailableAbstract Status: Fair use, Okay, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 52473

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.