Seasonal Fire Weather Index Analysis – Italy (2007–2024)

📌 OverviewThis repository contains all the necessary scripts and input data to reproduce the analysis of the <b>seasonal Fire Weather Index (FWI)</b> indicators for Italy between <b>2007–2024 (18 years)</b>.The workflow consists of <b>three R scripts</b> that calculate mean/median FWI values, burned area statistics, and relationships between fire danger indicators and observed burned areas.⚠️ Important Notes🔹 Dataset provenanceThe FWI dataset used here originates from the Copernicus Climate Data Store.This dataset is <b>no longer supported by the data providers</b>. Data and documentation are provided <i>as is</i>. Users are encouraged to consult the CDS Forum for any discussions or clarifications.The original <b>NetCDF (nc) files</b> contained:<b>Seasonal data</b>: June–September (fire season)<b>Indicator</b>: Fire Weather Index (FWI)<b>Scenario</b>: RCP2.6<b>Aggregation</b>: Multi-model mean caseThese NetCDF files were <b>reprojected using Climate Data Operators (CDO)</b> to a regular lon/lat grid before being included here.Reprojection grid specification:gridtype = lonlatxsize = 1000ysize = 460xfirst = -45xinc = 0.11yfirst = 22yinc = 0.11📂 Folder StructureAfter downloading, place the folder in the following path:C:/NERO2025/The folder should contain:C:/NERO2025/│── Script 01 C3S Analysis.R # Step 1 – FWI annual mean &amp; median│── Script 02 Burned Areas Per Region.R # Step 2 – Burned areas per ecoregion│── Script 03 Scatter Plots FWI vs Burned Area.R # Step 3 – FWI–burned area link│── IB_ITA_2007_2024_v_1.shp # Shapefile of burned areas│── subsez_ecoregioni_IT_proj.shp # Shapefile of Italian ecoregions│── other shapefile files (.dbf, .shx, etc.)▶️ Workflow<b>Step 1: Annual FWI statistics</b>Run <code><strong>Script 01 C3S Analysis.R</strong></code>Calculates <b>mean and median seasonal FWI values</b> per year for Italy and per ecoregion.Outputs:<code>FWI_Mean_Table.csv</code><code>FWI_Median_Table.csv</code><b>Step 2: Burned areas per ecoregion</b>Run <code><strong>Script 02 Burned Areas Per Region.R</strong></code>Intersects burned areas with Italian ecoregions.Calculates:Absolute burned area per year &amp; ecoregionRelative burned area (% of ecoregion burned)Performs <b>trend analysis</b> using linear regression &amp; Mann-Kendall.Outputs:<code>BurnedArea_Ecoregions.csv</code><code>RelativeBurnedArea_Ecoregions.csv</code><code>BurnedArea_Ecoregions_Trends.csv</code>Plots saved in <code>BurnedArea_Trends_Plots/</code><b>Step 3: Linking FWI and burned areas</b>Run <code><strong>Script 03 Scatter Plots FWI vs Burned Area.R</strong></code>Merges FWI tables (Step 1) with burned area statistics (Step 2).Generates <b>scatterplots with regression fits</b>, showing the relationship between FWI and burned areas.Outputs:Plots saved in <code>FWI_Burned_ScatterPlots/</code>CSVs of data used for each plot⚠️ <b>Dependencies</b>:<br><b>Script 03 </b>requires the results of <b>Scripts 01 &amp; 02</b>. Therefore, always run them in sequence.