A synthesis of post-fire Burned Area Reports from 1972 to 2009 for western US Forest Service lands: trends in wildfire characteristics and post-fire stabilisation treatments and expenditures

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R. Robichaud ◽  
Hakjun Rhee ◽  
Sarah A. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Soil Productivity ◽  
Treatment Implementation ◽  
Western Us ◽  
Treatment Type ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Over Time

Over 1200 post-fire assessment and treatment implementation reports from four decades (1970s–2000s) of western US forest fires have been examined to identify decadal patterns in fire characteristics and the justifications and expenditures for the post-fire treatments. The main trends found were: (1) the area burned by wildfire increased over time and the rate of increase accelerated after 1990; (2) the proportions of burned area assessed as low, moderate and high burn severity likely have remained fairly constant over time, but the use of satellite imagery that began c. 2000 increased the resolution of burn severity assessments leading to an apparent decreased proportion of high burn severity during the 2000s; (3) treatment justifications reflected regional concerns (e.g. soil productivity in areas of timber harvest) and generally reflected increased human encroachment in the wildland–urban interface; (4) modifications to roads were the most frequently recommended post-fire treatment type; (5) seeding was the most frequently used land treatment, but declined in use over time; (6) use of post-fire agricultural straw mulch has steadily increased because of proven success; and (7) the greatest post-fire expenditures have been for land treatments applied over large areas to protect important resources (e.g. municipal water sources).

Climatic influences on interannual variability in regional burn severity across western US forests

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Abatzoglou ◽  
Crystal A. Kolden ◽  
A. Park Williams ◽  
James A. Lutz ◽  
Alistair M. S. Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Area Burned ◽  
Western Us

Interannual variability in burn severity is assessed across forested ecoregions of the western United States to understand how it is influenced by variations in area burned and climate during 1984–2014. Strong correlations (|r| > 0.6) between annual area burned and climate metrics were found across many of the studied regions. The burn severity of individual fires and fire seasons was weakly, but significantly (P < 0.05), correlated with burned area across many regions. Interannual variability in fuel dryness evaluated with fuel aridity metrics demonstrated weak-to-moderate (|r| >0.4) relationships with regional burn severity, congruent with but weaker than those between climate and area burned for most ecoregions. These results collectively suggest that irrespective of other factors, long-term increases in fuel aridity will lead to increased burn severity in western United States forests for existing vegetation regimes.

scholarly journals Short-Term Effects of Fire Severity on Vegetation Based on Sentinel-2 Satellite Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 432
Author(s):  
Aru Han ◽  
Song Qing ◽  
Yongbin Bao ◽  
Li Na ◽  
Yuhai Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Dynamic Change ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Fire Event ◽  
Vegetation Dynamic ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Sentinel 2

An important component in improving the quality of forests is to study the interference intensity of forest fires, in order to describe the intensity of the forest fire and the vegetation recovery, and to improve the monitoring ability of the dynamic change of the forest. Using a forest fire event in Bilahe, Inner Monglia in 2017 as a case study, this study extracted the burned area based on the BAIS2 index of Sentinel-2 data for 2016–2018. The leaf area index (LAI) and fractional vegetation cover (FVC), which are more suitable for monitoring vegetation dynamic changes of a burned area, were calculated by comparing the biophysical and spectral indices. The results showed that patterns of change of LAI and FVC of various land cover types were similar post-fire. The LAI and FVC of forest and grassland were high during the pre-fire and post-fire years. During the fire year, from the fire month (May) through the next 4 months (September), the order of areas of different fire severity in terms of values of LAI and FVC was: low > moderate > high severity. During the post fire year, LAI and FVC increased rapidly in areas of different fire severity, and the ranking of areas of different fire severity in terms of values LAI and FVC was consistent with the trend observed during the pre-fire year. The results of this study can improve the understanding of the mechanisms involved in post-fire vegetation change. By using quantitative inversion, the health trajectory of the ecosystem can be rapidly determined, and therefore this method can play an irreplaceable role in the realization of sustainable development in the study area. Therefore, it is of great scientific significance to quantitatively retrieve vegetation variables by remote sensing.

scholarly journals Tendencies of Fire Development in the Forests of Ukraine

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Yevhen Melnyk ◽  
Vladimir Voron
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Necessary Conditions ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Wildfire Occurrence ◽  
Management Zone

Preservation and increase of forest area are necessary conditions for the biosphere functioning. Forest ecosystems in most parts of the world are affected by fires. According to the latest data, the forest fire situation has become complicated in Ukraine, and this issue requires ongoing investigation. The aim of the study was to analyse the dynamics of wildfires in Ukrainian forests over recent decades and to assess the complex indicator of wildfire occurrence in various forest management zones and administrative regions. The average annual complex indicator of fire occurrence, in terms of wildfire number and burned area, was studied in detail in the forests of various administrative regions and forest management zones in Ukraine from 1998 to 2017. The results show that fire occurrence in both the number and area of fires can vary significantly in various forest management zones. There is a very noticeable difference in these indicators in some administrative regions within a particular forest management zone. The data show that the number of forest fires depends not only on the natural and climatic conditions of such regions, but also on anthropogenic factors.

scholarly journals Age-Cohort Differences in Longitudinal Associations Between the Rate of Internet Use and Memory Functioning

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 410-410
Author(s):  
Vineet Raichur ◽  
Lindsay Ryan ◽  
Richard Gonzalez ◽  
Jacqui Smith
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Cross-sectional analyses of internet use patterns among older adults find that the rate of internet use is less with greater physical and memory difficulties. It is not clear, however, how age-cohorts differ in their internet use as physical and memory difficulties increase over time. In addition to factors such as increasing accessibility (cost) and social influences, the expansion and cognitive complexity of functions performed by the internet-enabled devices over time could influence internet use patterns. In this study, we investigate how the association between internet use and episodic memory difficulties over time varies between cohorts. We analyzed longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 15,703 in 2002; Aged 51 and older) between years 2002-2016 using mixed effects logistic regression models. Immediate and delayed word recall measures were used to assess episodic memory. Rate of internet use in the sample increased from 30% in 2002 to 53% in 2016. Rate of internet use among younger age groups was significantly higher in the baseline year. Younger age groups also showed a significantly higher rate of increase in internet use over time. In general, internet use decreased with episodic memory impairment. In addition to these effects, the effect of episodic memory on the rate of increase in internet use over time is lower in younger cohorts. These results indicate that younger cohorts of older adults are more likely to maintain internet use as they continue to age and therefore could better utilize technology for communication, social interactions and health interventions.

scholarly journals Evolution of Burned Area in Forest Fires under Climate Change Conditions in Southern Spain Using ANN

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 4155
Author(s):  
Pérez-Sánchez ◽  
Jimeno-Sáez ◽  
Senent-Aparicio ◽  
Díaz-Palmero ◽  
de Dios Cabezas-Cerezo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Southern Spain ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Change Scenario ◽  
Absolute Deviation ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
Mediterranean Regions ◽  
Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽  
Absolute Percent Error

Wildfires in Mediterranean regions have become a serious problem, and it is currently the main cause of forest loss. Numerous prediction methods have been applied worldwide to estimate future fire activity and area burned in order to provide a stable basis for future allocation of fire-fighting resources. The present study investigated the performance of an artificial neural network (ANN) in burned area size prediction and to assess the evolution of future wildfires and the area concerned under climate change in southern Spain. The study area comprised 39.41 km2 of land burned from 2000 to 2014. ANNs were used in two subsequential phases: classifying the size of the wildfires and predicting the burned surface for fires larger than 30,000 m2. Matrix of confusion and 10-fold cross-validations were used to evaluate ANN classification and mean absolute deviation, root mean square error, mean absolute percent error and bias, which were the metrics used for burned area prediction. The success rate achieved was above 60–70% depending on the zone. An average temperature increase of 3 °C and a 20% increase in wind speed during 2071–2100 results in a significant increase of the number of fires, up to triple the current figure, resulting in seven times the average yearly burned surface depending on the zone and the climate change scenario.

scholarly journals Faculty Publishing Productivity: Comparisons over Time

2006 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Budd
Keyword(s):  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Part Time Faculty ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Time Faculty ◽  
Over Time

Concerns about higher education abound, and these include concerns about productivity. The present study extends two previous examinations of faculty publishing productivity covering the years 1991 to 1993 and 1995 to 1997. Both members of ARL and a group of institutions included in ACRL’s data set are included. For both groups there are some increases in mean total numbers of publications, although the rate of increase has decreased since the second time period. Per capita rates of publication demonstrate an even flatter pattern. In recent years, there have been some changes in the dynamics of universities’ faculties; there are more part-time faculty and more faculty who are not on the tenure track. These factors, coupled with the publishing data, point to activities that all academic librarians should be aware of.

Controlling CO2 and CH4 Emission in a Degraded Peat Swamp Forest Related to Water Table and Peat Characteristics

2013 ◽  
Vol 391 ◽  
pp. 202-206
Author(s):  
Leila Kalsum ◽  
null Ngudiantoro ◽  
M. Faizal ◽  
A. Halim Pks
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Ash Content ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Swamp Forest ◽  
Closed Chamber ◽  
Peat Swamp Forest ◽  
Peat Swamp

This study focuses on factors controlling CO2and CH4emission in a peat swamp forest related to water table and peat characteristics such as peat depth, C-organic, pH, ash content and N-total. This study was conducted in the dry season at a Merang peat swamp forest that has degraded due to logging activities, forest fires and canal opening. Emission of CO2and CH4was measured by using a closed chamber made by PVC material (60 cm x 60 cm x 40 cm). This close chamber was completed with a fan inside the chamber to stir the gas, a thermometer inside the chamber to measure the gas temperature and a syringe to sample gas. This study has shown that the highest CO2emission is at an average of 438.93 mg/m2/hr occurring in land cover type (1) ferns and grasses (open burned area) and the lowest is at average of 44.45 mg/m2/hr in thegelamandbelidang-dominated land. The emission of CH4is very low between 0.0018 to 0.0069 mg/m2/hr. the main controlling factor on CO2and CH4emission is concluded to be the water table. The emission of CO2will be greater if water table, pH and C-organic increase.

scholarly journals Relating Spatiotemporal Patterns of Forest Fires Burned Area and Duration to Diurnal Land Surface Temperature Anomalies

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmine Maffei ◽  
Silvia Alfieri ◽  
Massimo Menenti
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Fire Danger ◽  
Parametric Models ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Informative Content

Forest fires are a major source of ecosystem disturbance. Vegetation reacts to meteorological factors contributing to fire danger by reducing stomatal conductance, thus leading to an increase of canopy temperature. The latter can be detected by remote sensing measurements in the thermal infrared as a deviation of observed land surface temperature (LST) from climatological values, that is as an LST anomaly. A relationship is thus expected between LST anomalies and forest fires burned area and duration. These two characteristics are indeed controlled by a large variety of both static and dynamic factors related to topography, land cover, climate, weather (including those affecting LST) and anthropic activity. To investigate the predicting capability of remote sensing measurements, rather than constructing a comprehensive model, it would be relevant to determine whether anomalies of LST affect the probability distributions of burned area and fire duration. This research approached the outlined knowledge gap through the analysis of a dataset of forest fires in Campania (Italy) covering years 2003–2011 against estimates of LST anomaly. An LST climatology was first computed from time series of daily Aqua-MODIS LST data (product MYD11A1, collection 6) over the longest available sequence of complete annual datasets (2003–2017), through the Harmonic Analysis of Time Series (HANTS) algorithm. HANTS was also used to create individual annual models of LST data, to minimize the effect of varying observation geometry and cloud contamination on LST estimates while retaining its seasonal variation. LST anomalies where thus quantified as the difference between LST annual models and LST climatology. Fire data were intersected with LST anomaly maps to associate each fire with the LST anomaly value observed at its position on the day previous to the event. Further to this step, the closest probability distribution function describing burned area and fire duration were identified against a selection of parametric models through the maximization of the Anderson-Darling goodness-of-fit. Parameters of the identified distributions conditional to LST anomaly where then determined along their confidence intervals. Results show that in the study area log-transformed burned area is described by a normal distribution, whereas log-transformed fire duration is closer to a generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution. The parameters of these distributions conditional to LST anomaly show clear trends with increasing LST anomaly; significance of this observation was verified through a likelihood ratio test. This confirmed that LST anomaly is a covariate of both burned area and fire duration. As a consequence, it was observed that conditional probabilities of extreme events appear to increase with increasing positive deviations of LST from its climatology values. This confirms the stated hypothesis that LST anomalies affect forest fires burned area and duration and highlights the informative content of time series of LST with respect to fire danger.

scholarly journals Evaluation of short-term changes of hydrological response in mountainous basins of the Vitim Plateau (Russia) after forest fires based on data analysis and hydrological modelling

2015 ◽  
Vol 371 ◽  
pp. 157-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. M. Semenova ◽  
L. S. Lebedeva ◽  
N. V. Nesterova ◽  
T. A. Vinogradova
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Hydrological Response ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Burnt Area ◽  
Area Product ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Fire Impact

Abstract. Twelve mountainous basins of the Vitim Plateau (Eastern Siberia, Russia) with areas ranging from 967 to 18 200 km2 affected by extensive fires in 2003 (from 13 to 78% of burnt area) were delineated based on MODIS Burned Area Product. The studied area is characterized by scarcity of hydrometeorological observations and complex hydrological processes. Combined analysis of monthly series of flow and precipitation was conducted to detect short-term fire impact on hydrological response of the basins. The idea of basin-analogues which have significant correlation of flow with "burnt" watersheds in stationary (pre-fire) period with the assumption that fire impact produced an outlier of established dependence was applied. Available data allowed for qualitative detection of fire-induced changes at two basins from twelve studied. Summer flow at the Amalat and Vitimkan Rivers (22 and 78% proportion of burnt area in 2003, respectively) increased by 40–50% following the fire.The impact of fire on flow from the other basins was not detectable.The hydrological model Hydrograph was applied to simulate runoff formation processes for stationary pre-fire and non-stationary post-fire conditions. It was assumed that landscape properties changed after the fire suggest a flow increase. These changes were used to assess the model parameters which allowed for better model performance in the post-fire period.

scholarly journals Forest fires and climate-induced tree range shifts in the western US

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avery P. Hill ◽  
Christopher B. Field
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Inventory Analysis ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Wildfire Occurrence ◽  
Western Us ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Climate Space

AbstractDue to climate change, plant populations experience environmental conditions to which they are not adapted. Our understanding of the next century’s vegetation geography depends on the distance, direction, and rate at which plant distributions shift in response to a changing climate. In this study we test the sensitivity of tree range shifts (measured as the difference between seedling and mature tree ranges in climate space) to wildfire occurrence, using 74,069 Forest Inventory Analysis plots across nine states in the western United States. Wildfire significantly increased the seedling-only range displacement for 2 of the 8 tree species in which seedling-only plots were displaced from tree-plus-seedling plots in the same direction with and without recent fire. The direction of climatic displacement was consistent with that expected for warmer and drier conditions. The greater seedling-only range displacement observed across burned plots suggests that fire can accelerate climate-related range shifts and that fire and fire management will play a role in the rate of vegetation redistribution in response to climate change.

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