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Satellite Microwave Detection of Boreal Forest Recovery from Large-Scale Wildfires
Matthew
O.
Jones, University of Montana - NTSG / FLBS, matt.jones@ntsg.umt.edu
(Presenter)
John
S
Kimball, University of Montana, johnk@ntsg.umt.edu
Lucas
A
Jones, University of Montana, lucas@ntsg.umt.edu
Kyle
McDonald, The City College of New York, kmcdonald2@ccny.cuny.edu
The rate of vegetation recovery from boreal wildfire influences terrestrial carbon cycle processes and climate feedbacks by affecting the surface energy budget and land-atmosphere carbon exchange. Previous forest recovery assessments using satellite optical-infrared normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and CO2 eddy covariance techniques indicate rapid vegetation canopy recovery within 5 to 10 years, but these techniques are not directly sensitive to changes in vegetation biomass. Alternatively, the vegetation optical depth (VOD) parameter from satellite passive microwave remote sensing can detect changes in canopy biomass structure and may provide a useful metric of post-fire vegetation response to better inform regional recovery assessments. We analyzed a multi-year (2003-2010) satellite VOD record from the NASA AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS) sensor to estimate forest recovery trajectories for 14 large boreal fires from 2004 in Alaska and Canada. The VOD record confirmed generally rapid post-fire recovery for burned areas while lagging NDVI recovery. The relative VOD lag was attributed to slower canopy recovery of both non-photosynthetic (e.g. woody) and photosynthetic (e.g. foliar) biomass. The duration of VOD recovery was also directly proportional to satellite (MODIS) estimated tree cover loss, used as an independent metric of fire severity. Our results indicate that vegetation recovery from boreal fire disturbance is generally slower than reported from previous assessments based solely on satellite optical-infrared remote sensing, while the VOD parameter enables more comprehensive assessments of boreal forest recovery.
Presentation:
2013_Poster_Jones_52_43.pptx (7811k)
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Poster Session 2-B
(Wed 4:30 PM)
Associated Project(s):
Poster Location ID: 52
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