Aleksi Knaappila

I am a Master of Science (Agriculture and Forestry), specialized in forest disturbance ecology. Currently, I work on my doctoral research on boreal forest fires in Finland. I focus on the factors affecting ignition and on variations in forest floor flammability across time and space. My research integrates official wildfire records, remote sensing data, and national vegetation inventories, reflecting my enthusiasm for geospatial data.

My dissertation consists of three studies. In the first study, I utilized nationwide rescue services data to assess how selected environmental and human-related factors influence the relative ignition probability and fire size. The second study aims to develop high-resolution predictions of forest flammability across the landscape, using terrestrial gamma-ray spectrometry to characterize the forest floor. In the third study, the objective is to evaluate how changes in vegetation have altered the flammability of Finnish forests over decadal timescales, while controlling for the effects of climate change.

As climate change is expected to increase forest fire risk across the circumboreal region, there is a growing need to accurately predict where and under which conditions fires are most likely to occur. My research advances our understanding of ignition, flammability, and their spatiotemporal dynamics in boreal forests.