Validation of remote sensing of burn severity in south-eastern US ecosystems
Joshua J. Picotte A and Kevin M. Robertson A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Tall Timbers Research Station, 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312, USA.
B Corresponding author. Email: krobertson@ttrs.org
International Journal of Wildland Fire 20(3) 453-464 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF10013
Submitted: 26 January 2010 Accepted: 3 August 2010 Published: 5 May 2011
Abstract
We assessed an existing method of remote sensing of wildland fire burn severity for its applicability in south-eastern USA vegetation types. This method uses Landsat satellite imagery to calculate the Normalised Burn Ratio (NBR) of reflectance bands sensitive to fire effects, and the change in NBR from pre- to post fire (dNBR) to estimate burn severity. To ground-truth ranges of NBR and dNBR that correspond to levels of burn severity, we measured severity using the Composite Burn Index at 731 locations stratified by plant community type, season of measurement, and time since fire. Best-fit curves relating Composite Burn Index to NBR or dNBR were used to determine reflectance value breakpoints that delimit levels of burn severity. Remotely estimated levels of burn severity within 3 months following fire had an average of 78% agreement with ground measurements using NBR and 75% agreement using dNBR. However, percentage agreement varied among habitat types and season of measurement, with either NBR or dNBR being advantageous under specific combinations of conditions. The results suggest this method will be useful for monitoring burned area and burn severity in south-eastern USA vegetation types if the provided recommendations and limitations are considered.
Additional keywords: Apalachicola National Forest, burn monitoring, CBI, composite burn index, depression swamp, differenced normalised burn ratio, dNBR, ecological change, NBR, normalised burn ratio, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Osceola National Forest, prescribed fire, sandhill, upland pine, wet flatwood, wildfire.
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