Mapping fire severity and fire extent in forest in Victoria for ecological and fuel outcomes

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg McCarthy ◽  
Kangmin Moon ◽  
Luke Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fire Severity ◽  
Fire Extent

scholarly journals Effects of wildfire on a pine stand in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 299-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Trochta ◽  
K. Král ◽  
P. Šamonil
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Crown Fire ◽  
Total N ◽  
Ground Fire ◽  
One Year ◽  
Fire Extent

The pine stand in the Havraní Skála locality in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park was affected by an extensive mixed-severity wildfire in summer 2006. The fire severity, fire type and fire extent were assessed by various fire severity measures collected in the field (mean bole char height on stems on sample plots, content of oxidizable C and total N at a soil depth of 0–5 cm), as well as by classification and filtering of green canopy cover from time series of aerial photographs acquired before the fire (2005), soon after the fire (2006) and one year after the fire (2007). The specific image analyses made it possible to uncover the spatial and temporal pattern of the stand defoliation. The central part of the site was mainly affected by the crown fire and thus defoliated substantially right during the fire. On the contrary, the peripheral part of the site was mostly affected by low-severity ground fire and therefore defoliated progressively one year later. All the fire severity measures used were well related.  

scholarly journals Is fire severity increasing in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA?

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad T. Hanson ◽  
Dennis C. Odion
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Fire Extent

Research in the Sierra Nevada range of California, USA, has provided conflicting results about current trends of high-severity fire. Previous studies have used only a portion of available fire severity data, or considered only a portion of the Sierra Nevada. Our goal was to investigate whether a trend in fire severity is occurring in Sierra Nevada conifer forests currently, using satellite imagery. We analysed all available fire severity data, 1984–2010, over the whole ecoregion and found no trend in proportion, area or patch size of high-severity fire. The rate of high-severity fire has been lower since 1984 than the estimated historical rate. Responses of fire behaviour to climate change and fire suppression may be more complex than assumed. A better understanding of spatiotemporal patterns in fire regimes is needed to predict future fire regimes and their biological effects. Mechanisms underlying the lack of an expected climate- and time since fire-related trend in high-severity fire need to be identified to help calibrate projections of future fire. The effects of climate change on high-severity fire extent may remain small compared with fire suppression. Management could shift from a focus on reducing extent or severity of fire in wildlands to protecting human communities from fire.

scholarly journals Complex responses of birds to landscape-level fire extent, fire severity and environmental drivers

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Lindenmayer ◽  
Wade Blanchard ◽  
Lachlan McBurney ◽  
David Blair ◽  
Sam C. Banks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire Severity ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Fire Extent ◽  
Landscape Level

scholarly journals Urban Fire Severity and Vegetation Dynamics in Southern California

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Lauren E. H. Mathews ◽  
Alicia M. Kinoshita
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Riparian Areas ◽  
The Impact

A combination of satellite image indices and in-field observations was used to investigate the impact of fuel conditions, fire behavior, and vegetation regrowth patterns, altered by invasive riparian vegetation. Satellite image metrics, differenced normalized burn severity (dNBR) and differenced normalized difference vegetation index (dNDVI), were approximated for non-native, riparian, or upland vegetation for traditional timeframes (0-, 1-, and 3-years) after eleven urban fires across a spectrum of invasive vegetation cover. Larger burn severity and loss of green canopy (NDVI) was detected for riparian areas compared to the uplands. The presence of invasive vegetation affected the distribution of burn severity and canopy loss detected within each fire. Fires with native vegetation cover had a higher severity and resulted in larger immediate loss of canopy than fires with substantial amounts of non-native vegetation. The lower burn severity observed 1–3 years after the fires with non-native vegetation suggests a rapid regrowth of non-native grasses, resulting in a smaller measured canopy loss relative to native vegetation immediately after fire. This observed fire pattern favors the life cycle and perpetuation of many opportunistic grasses within urban riparian areas. This research builds upon our current knowledge of wildfire recovery processes and highlights the unique challenges of remotely assessing vegetation biophysical status within urban Mediterranean riverine systems.

scholarly journals Effects of Soil Abiotic and Biotic Factors on Tree Seedling Regeneration Following a Boreal Forest Wildfire

Ecosystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa S. Ibáñez ◽  
David A. Wardle ◽  
Michael J. Gundale ◽  
Marie-Charlotte Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Betula Pendula ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Soil Biota ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Tree Seedling ◽  
Seedling Regeneration

AbstractWildfire disturbance is important for tree regeneration in boreal ecosystems. A considerable amount of literature has been published on how wildfires affect boreal forest regeneration. However, we lack understanding about how soil-mediated effects of fire disturbance on seedlings occur via soil abiotic properties versus soil biota. We collected soil from stands with three different severities of burning (high, low and unburned) and conducted two greenhouse experiments to explore how seedlings of tree species (Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies) performed in live soils and in sterilized soil inoculated by live soil from each of the three burning severities. Seedlings grown in live soil grew best in unburned soil. When sterilized soils were reinoculated with live soil, seedlings of P. abies and P. sylvestris grew better in soil from low burn severity stands than soil from either high severity or unburned stands, demonstrating that fire disturbance may favor post-fire regeneration of conifers in part due to the presence of soil biota that persists when fire severity is low or recovers quickly post-fire. Betula pendula did not respond to soil biota and was instead driven by changes in abiotic soil properties following fire. Our study provides strong evidence that high fire severity creates soil conditions that are adverse for seedling regeneration, but that low burn severity promotes soil biota that stimulates growth and potential regeneration of conifers. It also shows that species-specific responses to abiotic and biotic soil characteristics are altered by variation in fire severity. This has important implications for tree regeneration because it points to the role of plant–soil–microbial feedbacks in promoting successful establishment, and potentially successional trajectories and species dominance in boreal forests in the future as fire regimes become increasingly severe through climate change.

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.

A review of methods for determining structural fire severity—Part I: A historical perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon D. MacIntyre ◽  
Anthony K. Abu ◽  
Peter J. Moss ◽  
Daniel Nilsson ◽  
Colleen A. Wade
Keyword(s):  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Structural Fire

scholarly journals Predicting wildfire impacts on the prehistoric archaeological record of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA

Fire Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan M. Friggens ◽  
Rachel A. Loehman ◽  
Connie I. Constan ◽  
Rebekah R. Kneifel
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Jemez Mountains ◽  
Archaeological Materials

Abstract Background Wildfires of uncharacteristic severity, a consequence of climate changes and accumulated fuels, can cause amplified or novel impacts to archaeological resources. The archaeological record includes physical features associated with human activity; these exist within ecological landscapes and provide a unique long-term perspective on human–environment interactions. The potential for fire-caused damage to archaeological materials is of major concern because these resources are irreplaceable and non-renewable, have social or religious significance for living peoples, and are protected by an extensive body of legislation. Although previous studies have modeled ecological burn severity as a function of environmental setting and climate, the fidelity of these variables as predictors of archaeological fire effects has not been evaluated. This study, focused on prehistoric archaeological sites in a fire-prone and archaeologically rich landscape in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, USA, identified the environmental and climate variables that best predict observed fire severity and fire effects to archaeological features and artifacts. Results Machine learning models (Random Forest) indicate that topography and variables related to pre-fire weather and fuel condition are important predictors of fire effects and severity at archaeological sites. Fire effects were more likely to be present when fire-season weather was warmer and drier than average and within sites located in sloped, treed settings. Topographic predictors were highly important for distinguishing unburned, moderate, and high site burn severity as classified in post-fire archaeological assessments. High-severity impacts were more likely at archaeological sites with southern orientation or on warmer, steeper, slopes with less accumulated surface moisture, likely associated with lower fuel moistures and high potential for spreading fire. Conclusions Models for predicting where and when fires may negatively affect the archaeological record can be used to prioritize fuel treatments, inform fire management plans, and guide post-fire rehabilitation efforts, thus aiding in cultural resource preservation.

What are the associations between thinning and fire severity?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Taylor ◽  
Wade Blanchard ◽  
David B. Lindenmayer
Keyword(s):  
Fire Severity

scholarly journals Multitemporal Mapping of Post-Fire Land Cover Using Multiplatform PRISMA Hyperspectral and Sentinel-UAV Multispectral Data: Insights from Case Studies in Portugal and Italy

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 3982
Author(s):  
Giacomo Lazzeri ◽  
William Frodella ◽  
Guglielmo Rossi ◽  
Sandro Moretti
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Experimental Methodology ◽  
Vegetation Recovery ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sentinel 2

Wildfires have affected global forests and the Mediterranean area with increasing recurrency and intensity in the last years, with climate change resulting in reduced precipitations and higher temperatures. To assess the impact of wildfires on the environment, burned area mapping has become progressively more relevant. Initially carried out via field sketches, the advent of satellite remote sensing opened new possibilities, reducing the cost uncertainty and safety of the previous techniques. In the present study an experimental methodology was adopted to test the potential of advanced remote sensing techniques such as multispectral Sentinel-2, PRISMA hyperspectral satellite, and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) remotely-sensed data for the multitemporal mapping of burned areas by soil–vegetation recovery analysis in two test sites in Portugal and Italy. In case study one, innovative multiplatform data classification was performed with the correlation between Sentinel-2 RBR (relativized burn ratio) fire severity classes and the scene hyperspectral signature, performed with a pixel-by-pixel comparison leading to a converging classification. In the adopted methodology, RBR burned area analysis and vegetation recovery was tested for accordance with biophysical vegetation parameters (LAI, fCover, and fAPAR). In case study two, a UAV-sensed NDVI index was adopted for high-resolution mapping data collection. At a large scale, the Sentinel-2 RBR index proved to be efficient for burned area analysis, from both fire severity and vegetation recovery phenomena perspectives. Despite the elapsed time between the event and the acquisition, PRISMA hyperspectral converging classification based on Sentinel-2 was able to detect and discriminate different spectral signatures corresponding to different fire severity classes. At a slope scale, the UAV platform proved to be an effective tool for mapping and characterizing the burned area, giving clear advantage with respect to filed GPS mapping. Results highlighted that UAV platforms, if equipped with a hyperspectral sensor and used in a synergistic approach with PRISMA, would create a useful tool for satellite acquired data scene classification, allowing for the acquisition of a ground truth.

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