Abstract
Remotely sensed imagery has been used extensively in the western US to evaluate patterns of burn severity and vegetation recovery following wildland fires. Its application in southern US ecosystems, however, has been limited. Challenges in southern areas include very high rates of vegetation recovery following fire, frequent cloud cover, and the presence of standing water. Use of remote sensing in southern forests should therefore be coupled with concurrent ground-based assessments, at least until the methods are tested for different ecosystems. Here, we assessed burn severity using remote sensing in a sand pine scrub ecosystem, which occurs on the central ridge of the Florida peninsula and is characterized by infrequent (>40 years on average) high severity fire. Two overlapping fires that burned in 2006 and 2009 provided a unique opportunity to explore compounded fire severity patterns. Landsat-based imagery analysis matched ground-based severity measures roughly half of the time. In general, higher severity fire led to lower severity or unburned conditions, while low severity fire had a less pronounced impact on either preventing or reducing fire severity in the subsequent fire. The unusually frequent fires both occurred during drought conditions. As the region’s climate is predicted to be drier and hotter in the future, this work has implications for potential climate change effects on sand pine scrub fire regimes and, hence, ecosystem perpetuity.
Highlights
Fire, whether wild or prescribed, has variable effects on vegetation and fuels and can influence post-burn vegetative patterns and fuel loads for periods of time ranging from months to years
This study utilized the ∆Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) index to classify Landsat imagery to four levels of burn severity to assess two large wildfires that occurred in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness of the Ocala National Forest, Florida, USA
Using field plots to test agreement, it was determined that the ∆NBR burn severity index provided a suitable means of classifying Landsat imagery for the assessment of burn severity in sand pine scrub
Summary
University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, P.O. Box 110410, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA. Even though remotely sensed methods of mapping fires have existed for years, many land management agencies still utilize manual methods that involve personnel physically walking the burned area perimeter with a global positioning system (GPS) unit, or flying over the burned area and sketching the fire by hand (van Wagtendonk et al 2004) These techniques can be costly and time consuming and may not be feasible on very large landscape level fires, in rough terrain, or in dense vegetation (Henry 2008). The development of burn severity mapping procedures calibrated for sand pine scrub ecosystems would provide a method for the Forest Service to assess and quantify the impact of wildfires and prescribed fires across the vast 155 000 ha Ocala National Forest.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
