The detection and interpretation of fire-disturbed boreal forest ecosystems in Alaska using spaceborne SAR data

There is great interest in the ability to remotely monitor changes in boreal forest ecosystems for the understanding and balancing of the global carbon budget. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR), particularly the ERS-1 C-VV SAR, for the...

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Published inBulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States) Vol. 74:2
Main Authors Bourgeau-Chavez, L.L., Kasischke, E.S., French, N.H.F.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.06.1993
Subjects
09 BIOMASS FUELS
540120 > Environment, Atmospheric > Chemicals Monitoring & Transport > (1990-)
ALASKA
CARBON CYCLE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISTRIBUTION
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FIRES
FORESTS
GEOLOGY
GEOMORPHOLOGY
GLOBAL ASPECTS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
RADAR
RANGE FINDERS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SYNTHETIC-APERTURE RADAR
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
USA 095000 > Biomass Fuels > Environmental Aspects > (1990-)
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Summary:There is great interest in the ability to remotely monitor changes in boreal forest ecosystems for the understanding and balancing of the global carbon budget. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR), particularly the ERS-1 C-VV SAR, for the detection and interpretation of fire-disturbed boreal forest ecosystems in the state of Alaska. The Alaska Fire Service has provided fire maps and records for comparison with the SAR data. Preliminary results have found that the following all have an influence on the detectability of a fire-scar (1) the time elapsed since the fire occurred, (2) the season in which the SAR data is collected, and (3) the geomorphology of the landscape in which the fire occurred. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of SAR in the estimation of the areal extent of fires. It also evaluates the potential usefulness of SAR in providing information on the spatial variability of bum intensity.
Bibliography:CONF-930798--
None
ISSN:0012-9623
2327-6096