Figures (6)  Tables (5)

    • Figure 1. 

      Trend of global prescribed burning research publications and geographical distribution characteristics, 2000–2025.

    • Figure 2. 

      Conceptual framework of prescribed burning management.

    • Figure 3. 

      Mechanism of prescribed burning's impact on forest vertical structure and potential fire behavior.

    • Figure 4. 

      Full life-cycle carbon emission simulation comparison between prescribed burning and high-intensity wildfires.

    • Figure 5. 

      Smart prescribed burning workflow based on digital twins and human-machine collaboration.

    • Figure 6. 

      Architecture of the future 'Space-Air-Ground' integrated smart forest fire management system.

    • Sensor/platform Main outputs Strengths Limitations Best-use cases
      UAV RGB Perimeter, flame geometry, visual smoke plume High spatial detail; flexible viewpoints Smoke occlusion; daylight dependent Ignition quality control; mapping burn perimeter
      UAV thermal IR (TIR) Hotspots, temperature proxies Penetrates smoke; night
      capable      		 Radiometric calibration; limited flight endurance Spot-fire detection; mop-up; safety monitoring
      Ground IoT (met, PM sensors) Wind/RH; fuel moisture;
      PM2.5 near receptors      		 Continuous; direct exposure measurement Sparse coverage; maintenance burden Go/no-go thresholding; compliance reporting
      Satellite (VIIRS/MODIS/Sentinel) Hotspots, burn scars,
      aerosols (coarse)      		 Large-area context; historical baselines Revisit/cloud limits; coarse resolution Regional awareness; post-burn severity mapping
      Handheld IR/crew sensors Local hotspots, intensity proxies Low cost; immediate tactical feedback Labor intensive; limited coverage Fine-scale verification during operations

      Table 1. 

      Comparison of monitoring sensors for prescribed burning operations.

    • Dataset Modalities Scenario and scale Annotations/tasks Ref.
      FLAME RGB video + thermal heatmaps UAV imagery over a prescribed pile burn (Arizona, US) Frame-level classification; fire segmentation masks Shamsoshoara et al.[31]
      FLAME 3 RGB + radiometric thermal (TIFF) UAV wildland-fire imagery with radiometric thermal products Detection/segmentation; thermal calibration Hopkins et al.[32]
      UAV-strawFire RGB + thermal IR + video Controlled residue/straw burning (southern China) Detection, segmentation, tracking baselines Hu et al.[33]

      Table 2. 

      Representative open datasets for AI-enabled fire/flame/smoke monitoring.

    • Tool Typical scale/use Key inputs Strengths Limitations
      HYSPLIT Regional transport/screening Meteorology, emission rate, release height Fast; widely used; trajectory/dispersion screening Simplified plume rise; limited near-field complexity
      CALPUFF Local–regional, complex terrain Meteorology, terrain, emissions Terrain handling; regulatory use
      in some settings      		 Parameter sensitive; simplified chemistry; setup effort
      WRF-chem/
      CMAQ      		 Regional air-quality planning Emissions inventory, chemistry, meteorology Coupled chemistry; PM2.5/ozone impacts High computational cost; coarse for near-field burns
      WFDS/FDS Near-field flow/smoke in constrained domains Heat release, geometry, wind High-fidelity flow/heat; near-field scenarios Domain-limited; heavy compute; not regional
      QUIC-fire Operational CFD fire–
      atmosphere      		 Fuel, wind, terrain, ignition pattern Fast CFD-style simulation; complex terrain support Needs calibration; emissions/fuels uncertainty

      Table 3. 

      Comparison of commonly used smoke/fire–atmosphere modeling tools for prescribed burning.

    • Dimension North America/Australia (mature system) China (transition phase)
      Primary driver Dual-drive (ecology and risk)
      Views fire as an ecological process; emphasizes fuel reduction and habitat restoration.      		 Safety-dominant (prevention)
      Focuses on firebreaks and risk reduction; gradually extending to ecological restoration.
      Legal liability Negligence liability
      Certified practitioners following prescriptions are generally
      immune from liability (Safe Harbor principle).      		 Strict liability
      Result-oriented accountability; accidental escapes often lead to severe penalties regardless of intent.
      Decision & personnel Professional certification
      Mandatory Certified Burn Manager (CBM) credentialing is administered by state/agency fire and land-management authorities. Training covers fire behavior–weather, fuels and burn prescriptions, ignition operations, smoke/air-quality compliance, risk & safety management; certification typically requires coursework plus mentored burns, competency sign-off, and periodic recertification.      		 Administrative command
      Establish a forestry and fire-authority–led Certified Burn Manager framework with tiered roles; standardize curricula; require coursework plus mentored burns with task-book/logbook documentation; competency sign-off; periodic recertification/CPD
      Key technology Data-driven and aerial
      Widespread use of aerial ignition (PSD), fire behavior modeling,
      and smoke dispersion simulation.      		 Labor-intensive
      Relies on manual drip torches and blowers; UAVs and digital twins are in pilot stages.
      Major challenges Social acceptance
      Public intolerance to smoke (NIMBY effect) and constraints in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas.      		 Fragmented tenure and terrain
      Steep terrain, high population density, and fragmented forest tenure hinder unified operations.

      Table 4. 

      Comparison of prescribed burning management modes and characteristics between China and major western countries.

    • Ecosystem/region Main objectives Regulatory and institutional context Typical techniques and tools
      Boreal forests (Canada/Alaska) Fuel reduction near communities; protect timber assets Agency-led planning; smoke management permits; burn boss/crew qualifications Spring/fall low–moderate intensity; aerial ignition in remote areas; satellite + ground severity plots
      Savannas (Northern Australia) Early dry-season mosaic burning; biodiversity and emissions reduction Indigenous ranger programs; carbon-credit methodologies in some regions Frequent low-intensity burns; ignition by drip torch/heli/PSD; monitoring with burn-scar maps and emissions accounting
      Mediterranean forests (Southern Europe) Maintain fuel breaks; reduce crown-fire potential; WUI protection Highly regulated due to smoke and liability; narrow burn windows Small-block burns; mechanical prep + backing fires; smoke forecasting and rapid mop-up
      Chaparral/WUI (Western
      North America)      		 Hazard reduction; create defensible space; ecosystem restoration Public communication and air-quality coordination are central Targeted burns under dispersion constraints; sensors + handheld IR; post-burn risk scoring
      Subtropical plantations
      (South China, pilots)      		 Fuel reduction; pest/disease control; site preparation Pilot programs with administrative approval; evolving standards Small-area burns; UAV reconnaissance/
      thermal imaging; local fuel models under development

      Table 5. 

      Representative prescribed-burning practices across ecosystems and regions.