AUTHOR=Gonzalez Sofía , Ghermandi Luciana 

TITLE=How to define the wildland-urban interface? Methods and limitations: towards a unified protocol

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Environmental Science

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1284631

DOI=10.3389/fenvs.2023.1284631

ISSN=2296-665X

ABSTRACT=In recent decades, the risk of Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fires has increased due to urban growth, particularly in regions with a Mediterranean climate. The identification of the WUI is crucial for formulating fire prevention and management measures. However, there is no unified methodology for defining the WUI and it is not clear if proposals that emerge from scientific research are implemented by fire management agencies. Our objectives were to identify, describe, and compare the methods and criteria used by land and fire management agencies to define the WUI in Mediterranean-climate countries.We conducted a review of laws and fire prevention and management plans and protocols on official websites of administrative bodies and agencies of the USA, Spain,