An accuracy assessment of the MTBS burned area product for shrub?steppe fires in the northern Great Basin, United States

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Sparks ◽  
Luigi Boschetti ◽  
Wade T. Tinkham ◽  
Alistair M. S. Smith ◽  
Karen O. Lannom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Accuracy Assessment ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Area Product ◽  
Steppe Fires

An accuracy assessment of the MTBS burned area product for shrub–steppe fires in the northern Great Basin, United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Sparks ◽  
Luigi Boschetti ◽  
Alistair M. S. Smith ◽  
Wade T. Tinkham ◽  
Karen O. Lannom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Accuracy Assessment ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Mapping Accuracy ◽  
Commission Errors ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Area Product ◽  
Steppe Fires

Although fire is a common disturbance in shrub–steppe, few studies have specifically tested burned area mapping accuracy in these semiarid to arid environments. We conducted a preliminary assessment of the accuracy of the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) burned area product on four shrub–steppe fires that exhibited varying degrees of within-fire patch heterogeneity. Independent burned area perimeters were derived through visual interpretation and were used to cross-compare the MTBS burned area perimeters with classifications produced using set thresholds on the Relativised differenced Normalised Burn Index (RdNBR), Mid-infrared Burn Index (MIRBI) and Char Soil Index (CSI). Overall, CSI provided the most consistent accuracies (96.3–98.6%), with only small commission errors (1.5–4.4%). MIRBI also had relatively high accuracies (92.2–97.9%) and small commission errors (2.1–10.8%). The MTBS burned area product had higher commission errors (4.3–15.5%), primarily due to inclusion of unburned islands and fingers within the fire perimeter. The RdNBR burned area maps exhibited lower accuracies (92.9–96.0%). However, the different indices when constrained by the MTBS perimeter provided variable results, with CSI providing the highest and least variable accuracies (97.4–99.1%). Studies seeking to use MTBS perimeters to analyse trends in burned area should apply spectral indices to constrain the final burned area maps. The present paper replaces a former paper of the same title (http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF13206), which was withdrawn owing to errors discovered in data analysis after the paper was accepted for publication.

scholarly journals Evaluation of satellite-derived burned area products for the fynbos, a Mediterranean shrubland

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen M. de Klerk ◽  
Adam M. Wilson ◽  
Karen Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Accuracy Assessment ◽  
Confusion Matrix ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Western Area ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
History Of ◽  
Area Product ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Intended Use

Fire is a critical ecological process in the fynbos of the south-western area of South Africa, as it is for all dwarf Mediterranean shrublands. We evaluated the potential of current publicly available MODIS burned area products to contribute to an accurate fire history of the fynbos. To this end, we compared the Meraka Institute’s MODIS burned area product, based on the Giglio algorithm (termed the ‘WAMIS’ product) as well as the standard MODIS MCD45A1 burned area product, based on the Roy algorithm, with comprehensive manager-mapped fire boundary data. We used standard inventory accuracy assessment (number and size of individual burn scars) and confusion matrix techniques. Results showed promise for both burned area products, depending on the intended use. The MCD45A1 had low errors of commission (8.1–19.1%) and high consumer’s accuracy (80.9–91.9%), but relatively common errors of omission, making it useful for studies that need to identify burned pixels with a high degree of certainty. However, the WAMIS product generally had low errors of omission (12.2–43.8%) and greater producer’s accuracy (56.2–87.6%), making it a useful tool for supplementing manager-mapped fire records, especially for fynbos remnants occurring outside protected areas.

scholarly journals Wildfire Trend Analysis over the Contiguous United States Using Remote Sensing Observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 2565
Author(s):  
John Salguero ◽  
Jingjing Li ◽  
Alireza Farahmand ◽  
John T. Reager
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
The United States ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Western Us ◽  
The Us ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Wildfire Regimes ◽  
Trend Direction

Understanding the evolution of wildfire regimes throughout the United States (US) is crucial in the preparation, mitigation, and planning for national wildfires. Recent wildfire trajectories demonstrating an increase in both frequency and size across the US have made documenting the changes in wildfire regimes a topic of growing importance. While previous studies have examined wildfire regimes using ecoregions, this study analyzes wildfire regimes through the Geographic Area Coordination Center (GACC) regions across the Contiguous US over 34 years, 1984–2017. GACCs are geopolitical boundaries designed by wildfire agencies to promote an efficient way to distribute resources during emergencies such as wildfires. Wildfire observations originate from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) database which records large fire events that are 1000(500) acres or greater in the Western (Eastern) US. Using GACCs and MTBS data, this study examines wildfire regimes across the Contiguous US through the following three parameters: total burned area, frequency, and average burned area. This study characterizes the trend direction of the wildfire parameters and which are statistically significant. Results demonstrate that most GACC regions display statistically significant trends, including wildfire regimes that are beyond the Western US (e.g., Southern GACC). The Northwest and Southwest GACCs demonstrate statistically significant positive trends in every parameter observed. The California and Great Basin GACCs demonstrate statistically significant positive trends in the average burned area. The Eastern GACC is the only region to not display any significant trends. Determining significant wildfire regimes and their trend direction can help wildfire agencies to minimize the negative impacts on the environment, society, and economy.

scholarly journals Hot and cold flavors of southern California’s Santa Ana winds: their causes, trends, and links with wildfire

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gershunov ◽  
Janin Guzman Morales ◽  
Benjamin Hatchett ◽  
Kristen Guirguis ◽  
Rosana Aguilera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Rossby Wave Breaking ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana Winds

AbstractSanta Ana winds (SAWs) are associated with anomalous temperatures in coastal Southern California (SoCal). As dry air flows over SoCal’s coastal ranges on its way from the elevated Great Basin down to sea level, all SAWs warm adiabatically. Many but not all SAWs produce coastal heat events. The strongest regionally averaged SAWs tend to be cold. In fact, some of the hottest and coldest observed temperatures in coastal SoCal are linked to SAWs. We show that hot and cold SAWs are produced by distinct synoptic dynamics. High-amplitude anticyclonic flow around a blocking high pressure aloft anchored at the California coast produces hot SAWs. Cold SAWs result from anticyclonic Rossby wave breaking over the northwestern U.S. Hot SAWs are preceded by warming in the Great Basin and dry conditions across the Southwestern U.S. Precipitation over the Southwest, including SoCal, and snow accumulation in the Great Basin usually precede cold SAWs. Both SAW flavors, but especially the hot SAWs, yield low relative humidity at the coast. Although cold SAWs tend to be associated with the strongest winds, hot SAWs tend to last longer and preferentially favor wildfire growth. Historically, out of large (> 100 acres) SAW-spread wildfires, 90% were associated with hot SAWs, accounting for 95% of burned area. As health impacts of SAW-driven coastal fall, winter and spring heat waves and impacts of smoke from wildfires have been recently identified, our results have implications for designing early warning systems. The long-term warming trend in coastal temperatures associated with SAWs is focused on January–March, when hot and cold SAW frequency and temperature intensity have been increasing and decreasing, respectively, over our 71-year record.

Impacts on ecosystems, corrective restoration practices, and prospects for recovery: nine case studies in the continental United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 431 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Jones
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Colorado River ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Elwha River

Ecological restoration in the United States is growing in terms of the number, size, and diversity of projects. Such efforts are intended to ameliorate past environmental damage and to restore functioning ecosystems that deliver desired levels of ecosystem services. In nine current restoration case studies from across the continental United States, this paper details (1) the impacts of the original disturbance and compounding secondary issues that compel restoration, (2) the corrective practices applied to advance restoration goals, and (3) the prospects for recovery of ecosystem services, including those involving associated animal populations. Ecosystem-altering impacts include flood control (Kissimmee River), flood control and navigation (Atchafalaya Basin), damming for irrigation-water storage (Colorado River) and hydroelectric power (Elwha River), logging and fire suppression (longleaf pine forest), plant invasions that decrease fire-return intervals (Great Basin shrublands, Mojave Desert), nutrient and sediment loading of watersheds (Chesapeake Bay, Mississippi River delta), and conversion of natural lands to agriculture (tallgrass prairie). Animal species targeted for recovery include the greater sage-grouse (Great Basin shrublands), the red-cockaded woodpecker (longleaf pine forest), the south-western willow flycatcher (Colorado River and its tributaries), the desert tortoise (Mojave Desert), eight salmonid fish (Elwha River), and the blue crab and eastern oyster (Chesapeake Bay).

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