Recent Trends in U.S. Forest Disturbance and Regrowth from Landsat and USFS FIA : A Contribution to the North America Carbon Program
Samuel
N.
Goward, Geography, Univeristy of Maryland, sgoward@umd.edu
(Presenting)
Jeffery
Masek, Land Processes Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,, Jeffrey.G.Masek@nasa.gov
Warren
B.
Cohen, Biospheric Science Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, warren.cohen@oregonstate.edu
Gretchen
G.
Moisen, U.S. Forest Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service,, gmoisen@fs.fed.us
Understanding forest dynamics is critical to the goals of the NACP. Scaling local patterns of forest change to regional and continental areas will prove to be a significant challenge. As a result, mapping land-cover change and disturbance falls into the NACP’s “First Tier” of land measurements - those measurements that must be made comprehensively at continental scales and, most likely, over a range of time periods, from remote sensing and allied comprehensive ground measurements such as the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data.
In this study, we are building upon our previous work with land remote sensing measurements in combination with the USFS FIA field measurements, to develop a 30+ year historical record of forest disturbance and regrowth dynamics for North America, This analysis will provide carbon modelers with critical information is needed to both parameterize and validate regional- to continental-scale process models applied across North America.