Data driven forest fire susceptibility mapping in Bangladesh

Forests are essential natural resources that serve to facilitate economic activity while also providing an essential impact on climate regulation and the carbon cycle. In the Chittagong hill tracts, forest fires significantly contribute to the eradication of forests and the depletion of biodiversity. As a result, addressing the forest fire hazard is crucial for mitigating its potential negative effects. By implementing machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms, the primary aim of this research is to determine which areas within the CHT are most prone to forest fires. Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Classification and Regression Trees (CART), Categorical Boosting (Catboost), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Deep Neural Network (DNN), Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGboost) are among these algorithms. This research investigates 267 past forest fire incidents while incorporating fifteen predictive parameters for forest fires. The utmost accuracy is demonstrated by the Catboost model, which has an AUC value of 0.83. Applied models the Bandarbon and Rangamati regions of the Chittagong hill tracts have been thoroughly analyzed and discovered to be extremely and moderately vulnerable to forest fires due to their intricate physical and social characteristics. The Catboost model indicates that 67.38% of the total regions and 0.59% of the regions in Chittagoong hill tracts are classified as moderate and high susceptible zones, respectively. The results of this study present the models utilized in the present analysis exhibit a high level of effectiveness. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the NDVI and annual temperature had the most influence. The application of both ML and DL approaches in the Chittagong hill tracts for the first time resulted in models that exhibited excellent accuracy and precision, combining perfectly with the actual conditions on the ground. This study will undeniably assist the local government in implementing efficient governance and preservation strategies for the sustainable maintenance of forest resources, while enhancing the well-being of individuals living in and around the forest. Forest fire susceptibility assessment can be utilized in various locations worldwide that include significant natural and human-induced characteristics.