Burnt Forest Areas Research Articles

Mapping and Tracking Forest Burnt Areas in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve Using Sentinel-3 SLSTR and VIIRS-DNB Imagery.

Wildfires are considered one of the most major hazards and environmental issues worldwide. Recently, Earth observation satellite (EOS) sensors have proven to be effective for wildfire detection, although the quality and usefulness of the data are often hindered by cloud presence. One practical workaround is to combine datasets from multiple sensors. This research presents a methodology that utilizes data of the recently-launched Sentinel-3 sea and land surface temperature radiometer (S3-SLSTR) to reflect its applicability for detecting wildfires. In addition, visible infrared imaging radiometer suite day night band (VIIRS-DNB) imagery was introduced to assure day-night tracking capabilities. The wildfire event in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, Nicaragua, during 3–13 April 2018, was the study case. Six S3-SLSTR images were processed to compute spectral indices, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the normalized difference water index (NDWI), and the normalized burn ratio (NBR), to perform image segmentation for estimating the burnt area. The results indicate that 5870.7 ha of forest was affected during the wildfire, close to the 5945 ha reported by local authorities. In this study, the fire expansion was delineated and tracked in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve using a modified fast marching method on nighttime-sensed temporal VIIRS-DNB. This study shows the importance of S3-SLSRT for wildfire monitoring and how it can be complemented with VIIRS-DNB to track burning biomass at daytime and nighttime.

Mid-term post-fire losses of nitrogen and phosphorus by overland flow in two contrasting eucalypt stands in north-central Portugal

Wildfires affect vast areas of Mediterranean forests, thereby triggering changes in hydrological and geomorphological processes that can negatively affect both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Although several studies have evaluated the post-fire hydrological and erosive response in burnt forest areas, an important knowledge gap remains with respect to nutrient mobilization by overland flow. To address this gap, a recently burnt area was selected near the Ermida village (north-central Portugal). The study area was instrumented shortly after a wildfire that occurred in July 2010, to evaluate the export of dissolved (nitrate – NO3-N and orthophosphate – PO4-P) and total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) forms by overland flow. This was done in two burnt eucalyptus plantations due to their contrasting slope aspects (south-east vs. north-west). Bounded micro-plots were installed in August 2010 and monitored over two years. During this period, overland flow samples were collected on a 1- to 2-weekly basis, depending on the occurrence of rain. Results showed that the north west-facing slope (BE-N) presented higher nutrient losses than the south east-facing slope (BE-S), contradicting the findings of previous studies in the Mediterranean region. A logging operation that had taken place at the BE-N site shortly before the fire might account for these findings, by causing soil compaction and/or reducing the protective vegetation and litter cover. TN and TP exports were particularly pronounced during the first four months following the wildfire. After this initial period, further peaks in TN and TP exports occurred sporadically, mainly associated to intense rainfall events. The observed mid-term post-fire nutrient losses not only suggested a threat to the soil nutrient balance of Mediterranean eucalypt forests but also a potential risk of eutrophication of downstream water bodies.

Characterizing Distribution of Forest Fires in Myanmar Using Earth Observations and Spatial Statistics Tool

This is the first of its kind work on the assessment of forest burnt area and fire hotspots of Myanmar using Landsat OLI data and spatial statistics tool. Burnt area analysis indicates 15.2% of vegetation area was affected by fires in 2017. Analysis of burnt area at state level indicates Kayah affected by more fires in 2017. Of the total vegetation fire occurrences from 2003 to 2017 about 44.7% were observed in the forested landscapes of Myanmar. The emerging hotspot analysis had shown the highest spatial extent of persistent hotspots followed by oscillating hotspots. Forest fire hotspots are mainly found in the states of Kayah, Shan, Bago, Nayi Pyi Taw, Magway, Mandalay, Chin, and Kayin. Overall earth observations based on 2003 to 2017 fire occurrences indicate a declining trend of fires in Myanmar. A comparison of the fire occurrences recorded by MODIS and VIIRS indicates that VIIRS is capable of detecting a greater number of fire incidences. The findings of the study would support in assessing the impact of fires on forest, its structure, composition, function, and provide valuable input for nationwide forest fire management.

Energy-Efficient IoT-Fog-Cloud Architectural Paradigm for Real-Time Wildfire Prediction and Forecasting

Wildfires are catastrophic disasters. They pose a fatal threat not only to the forest resources but also to the entire regime of flora and fauna, gravely disturbing the bio-diversity and ecology of the region. The frequency and severity of wildfires are expected to grow, owing to global warming. Therefore, it is essential to adopt a comprehensive, multifaceted approach that enables the real-time monitoring of forest terrains and prompt responsiveness. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology has grown exponentially in recent years, with IoT sensors being deployed to monitor and collect time critical data. This research proposes an integrated IoT-Fog-Cloud energy-efficient framework for wildfire prediction and forecasting. Initially, analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc test-based energy conserving mechanism ensures the enhanced lifetime of resource-constrained sensors by adapting the sampling rate of wildfire influent parameters (WIPs) at fog layer. Principal component analysis (PCA) is employed for WIPs’ reduction. Wildfire vulnerability level of a forest terrain is predicted and forecasted using Naive Bayes (NB) classifier and seasonal auto regressive integrated moving average model, respectively, at cloud layer. Burnt forest area is also predicted using support vector regression. The implementation results of the proposed framework prove its efficiency in predicting and forecasting wildfires.

Intraseasonal Dynamics of River Discharge and Burned Forest Areas in Siberia

This study demonstrates the dependence between the forest burning rates and abnormal decrease in Siberian river discharges under the conditions of the permafrost zone. Our study area is in Central Siberia and Eastern Siberia/Yakutia. Four rivers (Podkamennaya Tunguska, Lower Tunguska, Aldan, and Viluy) were selected for the study. We analyzed the long-term and seasonal variation of river discharges (archive of The Global Runoff Data Centre for 1939–2015) together with the forest burning dynamics within the river basins (archive of Sukachev Institute of Forest for 1996–2015). We compared the discharges per year with the 77-year average value. Abnormally low levels of discharge constituted 58–78% of the averaged annual rate. An analysis of available chronologies of extreme fire events and relative burned areas (RBAs) showed a high correlation with intra-seasonal data on the runoff minima. The most significant response of river discharges to the wildfire effect was shown for the late summer/autumn season after extreme wildfires during the summer period. The deficit of the runoff was not explained by a low precipitation. Late summer and autumn anomalies of discharge were typical (r = −0.57…−0.77, p < 0.05) for rivers of Central Siberia in seasons of extreme forest burning. The correlation was lower for rivers of Eastern Siberia/Yakutia.

Pollution of Pb Metal on Soil at Burned Forest Areas at Baluran National Park-East Java Indonesia.

Burned Forest at Baluran Nasional Park occurs almost every year, especially the peak of the dry season. Forest fires cause soil nutrients on the surface and in the soil decrease in both quantity and quality; thus, affecting plant growth and development. The purpose of this study was to distinguish the contents of Pb metal in the soil in areas that burned and non-burned areas. The method used was a purposive sampling area. In each of the same stands were taken 5 soil samples with different coordinate points and considered as one sample. The sampling obtained up to 10 points which are considered as replications. The results of research were from the soil taken at National Park Baluran the area burned with areas that have never been burned with a repetition of 10 times. It can be concluded that the Pb contents on the soil in the burned area and not burned areas significantly differ.

Assessment of gaseous emissions and radiative forcing in Indian forest fires

ABSTRACTThis paper reports a study of the gaseous emissions from Indian forest fires from 2005 to 2016 and their potential impact on radiative forcing. Initially, forest burned area is quantified using MODIS-MCD45A1 data. Results showed that annual burned area of the study period ranges from 8439 km2 to 25,442 km2 and the maximum forest area is burned during February, March, and April in any year. Gaseous emissions are estimated using emission factors, the mass of fuel available for combustion, combustion factor, and burned area. CO2, CO, and CH4 are the major emissions during forest fires with an annual average of 105 × 106 tonnes, 6 × 106 tonnes, and 3.25 × 105 tonnes, respectively. The average radiative forcing (RF) for CO2, CH4, and N2O is estimated as 1.8 Wm−2, 0.49 Wm−2, and 0.177 Wm−2, respectively. An important finding in the present study is the recurrence of forest fires during the pre-monsoon season.

Wildfire effects on permafrost and soil moisture in spruce forests of Interior Alaska

In the summer of 2015, hundreds of forest fires burned across the state of Alaska. Several uncontrolled wildfires near the town of Tanana on the Yukon River were responsible for the largest portion of the area burned statewide. In July 2017, field measurements were carried out in both unburned and burned forested areas nearly adjacent to one another, all within 15 miles of the village of Tanana. These surveys were used to first visually verify locations of different burn severity classes, (low, moderate, or high), estimated in 2016 from Landsat images (collected before and after the 2015 Tanana-area wildfires). Surface and soil profile measurements to 30-cm depth at these same locations were collected for evidence of moss layer and forest biomass burning. Soil temperature and moisture content were measured to 30-cm depth, and depth to permafrost was estimated by excavation wherever necessary. Digital thermal infra-red images of the soil profiles were taken at each site location, and root-zone organic layer samples were extracted for further chemical analysis. Results supported the hypothesis that the loss of surface organic layers is a major factor determining post-fire soil water and temperature changes and the depth of permafrost thawing. In the most severely burned forest sites, complete consumption of the living moss organic layer was strongly associated with both warming at the surface layer and increases in soil water content, relative to unburned forest sites. Soil temperatures at both 10-cm and 30-cm depths at burned forest sites were higher by 8–10 °C compared to unburned sites. Below 15 cm, temperatures of unburned sites dropped gradually to frozen levels by 30 cm, while soil temperatures at burned sites remained above 5 °C to 30-cm depth. The water content measured at 3 cm at burned sites was commonly in excess of 30% by volume, compared to unburned sites. The strong correlation between burn index values and depth to permafrost measured across all sites sampled in July 2017 showed that the new ice-free profile in severely burned forest areas was commonly 50-cm deeper than in unburned soils.

Significant decline of forest fires in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India

Yet there is considerable uncertainty over management effectiveness of many protected areas around the world. In this regard, long-term monitoring and management of disturbances in the protected areas need to be properly addressed and documented. The present study is aimed to analyze spatial extent, frequency and distribution of forest fires in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats, India over four decades (1973–2014). Multi-temporal Landsat and Indian Remote Sensing satellite data were used to quantify forest burnt area. The results showed that the spatial extent of burnt area greatly varied between 1318 km2 (in 1989) to 15.7 km2 (in 2013). The monitoring of fires during the recent decade (2005–2014) was observed to have a gradual decline over the reserve. High frequency of fires has been found in dry deciduous forest followed by moist deciduous forest, scrub, grassland and semi-evergreen forest. Among six protected areas, Bandipur National Park had represented more fire incidents followed by Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagarhole and Mukurthi National Parks. Grid analysis shows that 67% of the grids were affected by forest fires. Large burnt patches have steadily decreased in their size while the other patch classes showed a significant reduction in their size over the study period. This study had revealed the role of climate and accessibility in relation to fire occurrences. Based on historical burnt area mapping outputs, fire hotspots have been modeled to address fire risk zones. Indeed, the Mann-Kendall trend test has indicated that the overall trend of fire incidents have been declining and this indicates the management effectiveness in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

Are Wildfires Knocking on the Built-Up Areas Door?

Human-started fires represent the vast majority of wildfires in Mediterranean countries. The current expansion of human settlements into fire-prone territories has led to the creation of landscapes where anthropogenic developments merge with wildland areas. In this context, understanding the role of distance from built-up areas in shaping coarse-scale wildfire spatial patterns is a major concern. Proximity to cities has become an important factor that may increase the probability of wildfires in wildland-urban interfaces. To this issue, we developed an assessment of wildfire distribution in Italy over an 8-year period (2007–2014) to quantify fire occurrence and recurrence as a function of distance from built-up areas. Our findings suggest a positive relationship between the distance from built-up areas and fire incidence (i.e., ratio between burnt forest area and total forest area), whereas a negative relation was found between distance from built-up areas and fire frequency and recurrence; thus, there are more recurring yet smaller sized-fires near built-up areas. Fifty percent of fire events and more than two-thirds of recurrent fires occur within 200 m from built-up areas. On the other hand, the considerable amount of such fire events never reaches an incidence higher than 10% in flat areas and 30% in hilly and mountainous areas. More broadly, quantitative knowledge about where fires occur is essential to ensure appropriate fire management throughout large territories. With this in mind, our investigation intends to provide a solid base for further studies in landscapes with a high component of human-dominated land use.

Layout Guide for Burnt and Un-burnt Tropical Forest: The Diversity of Forest Plants and Insetcs for Sustainable Environmental

Forest fire is a common phenomenon in tropical forest likes in Indonesia. Beside the effect of soaring heat and lack of rain during dry season due to the tropical climate, farming system is also reported as one reason of forest fire in Indonesia. People of surrounding areas and neighbouring countries are suffering from the effect of forest fire. Plants and animals are the most suffer from this occurrence that they cannot escape. This study aimed to investigate the effect of previously burnt and un-burnt tropical forest in Borneo Island on the plant and insect diversity of the tropical forest. The result of the study found that the plants in previously burnt forest area was dominated by one species, while higher and more stable plant diversity was found in un-burnt forest. Although the number of individual insects was higher in previously burnt tropical forest, but the insects was more diverse in un-burnt tropical forest. The alteration of environmental conditions in previously burnt and un-burnt forest indicate that the energy held in natural forest support higher number and more stable insects than previously burnt forest.

REMOTE SENSING & GIS INTEGRATION FOR MONITORING THE AREAS AFFECTED BY FOREST FIRES: A CASE STUDY IN IZMIR, TURKEY

Abstract. A forest fire is stated as an ecological disaster whether it is man-made or caused naturally. İzmir is one of the regions where forest fires are most intensified in Turkey. The study area located at Aegean region of Turkey suffered two forest fires in 2017; Menderes and Bayındır areas. This study presents the integration of remote sensing (Sentinel 2 and Landsat 8 satellite images) and GIS data to map and evaluate the forest burned areas due to both forest fires. For this purpose, different indexes such as Burn Area Index (BAI), Mid Infrared Burn Index (MIRBI), Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and Normalized Burn Ratio Thermal (NBRT) Burn Index are applied besides different classification algorithms. The results showed that different vegetation types/zones are being affected. Sentinel 2 and Landsat 8 data are integrated to the GIS established with fieldwork data to analyse and also validate the results. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data produced from ASTER satellite is also overlaid to the outcomes to emphasize the destructed forest areas. The efficiency of using two different satellites are outlined by comparing the accuracy of forest fire maps produced.

Developing generalized parameters for post-fire erosion risk assessment using the revised Morgan-Morgan-Finney model: A test for north-central Portuguese pine stands

Models can be useful for predicting the hydrological impacts of natural phenomenon such as wildfires and to help implement effective post-fire land management options. In this research, the revised Morgan–Morgan–Finney (MMF) model was used to simulate runoff and soil erosion in recently burned maritime pine plantations with contrasting fire regimes, in a wet Mediterranean region of north-central Portugal. The MMF model was adapted for burnt areas by implementing seasonal changes in model parameters in order to accommodate seasonal patterns in runoff and soil erosion, attributed to changes in soil water repellency and vegetation recovery. The model was then evaluated by applying it for a total of 18 experimental micro-plots (0.25 m2) at 9 once burned and 9 four times burned slopes, using both previously published and newly calibrated parameters, with observed data used to evaluate the robustness and wider applicability of each parameterization. The prediction of erosion was more accurate than that of runoff, with an overall Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.54. Slope angle and the soils' effective hydrological depth (which depends on vegetation and/or crop cover) were found to be the main parameters improving model outcomes, and different parameters were needed to differentiate between the two contrasting fire regimes. This case study showed that most existing benchmark parameters can be used to apply MMF in burned pine forest areas with moderate severity fires to support post-fire management, but indicated that further efforts should focus on mapping soil depth and vegetation cover to improve these assessments.

Spatial and temporal distribution of forest fire frequency and forest area burnt in Jilin Province, Northeast China

Forest fires caused by natural forces or human activities are one of the major natural risks in Northeast China. The incidence and spatial distribution of these fires vary over time and across the forested areas in Jilin Province, Northeast China. In this study, the incidence and distribution of 6519 forest fires from 1969 to 2013 in the province were investigated. The results indicated that the spatiotemporal distribution of the burnt forest area and the fire frequency varied significantly by month, year, and region. Fire occurrence displayed notable temporal patterns in the years after forest fire prevention measures were strictly implemented by the provincial government. Generally, forest fires in Jilin occurred in months when stubble and straw were burned and human activities were intense during traditional Chinese festivals. Baishan city, Jilin city, and Yanbian were defined as fire-prone regions for their high fire frequency. Yanbian had the highest frequency, and the fires tended to be large with the highest burned area per fire. Yanbian should thus be listed as the key target area by the fire management agency in Jilin Province for better fire prevention.

From the South and from the North? – Quilnus marcosi Heiss & Baena and Aradus angularis J. Sahlberg, two flat bug species new for Central Europe (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Aradidae)

The flat bug fauna of Switzerland is still insufficiently studied. We describe the first records of Aradus angularis J. Sahlberg, 1886 and Quilnus marcosi Heiss & Baena, 2006 (Heteroptera: Aradidae) in Switzerland from a burnt forest area in the canton Valais. These are also the first records for Central Europe. With these new records, the number of Aradidae species recorded in Switzerland increases to 21, and in the canton Valais to 16. A cantonal record list of aradid species in Switzerland and photographs of the two recently new recorded species are provided. The pyrophilous A. angularis shows a disjunct distribution pattern, disconnected from its known distributional range from Fennoscandia to Northeast China, which suggests that the species is a relict of the Ice Age in Central Europe. In contrast, the sub-Mediterranean Q. marcosi seems to have expanded its distributional range to the north-east or has previously gone unnoticed in Switzerland. The host plants of Q. marcosi include Pinus nigra and P. sylvestris.

Nationwide Assessment of Forest Burnt Area in India Using Resourcesat-2 AWiFS Data

Nationwide Assessment of Forest Burnt Area in India Using Resourcesat-2 AWiFS Data

Off-site impacts of wildfires on aquatic systems - Biomarker responses of the mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki.

The number of wildfires has markedly increased in Mediterranean Europe, including in Portugal. Wildfires are environmentally concerning, not only due to the loss of biodiversity and forest area, but also as a consequence of environmental contamination by specific compounds including metals and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs). These contaminants, mostly bound to ashes, can reach downstream water bodies, namely through surface runoff, being ultimately dispersed by vast areas and contacting with aquatic biota. Being toxicologically noteworthy, the potential toxic outcomes of the input of such chemicals across the aquatic compartment must be characterized. In this context, the present study used a biomarker-based approach to find early-warning signals of toxicity triggered by the exposure of the mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, to affected aqueous runoff and stream water samples collected from a forest burnt area. The chemical analysis revealed concerning levels of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in both runoff and stream water samples. Biological responses elicited by the collected samples showed the occurrence of pro-oxidative modifications, specifically driven by enzymatic forms involved in the metabolism of glutathione. Despite these effects, no further signs of involvement of metals and PAHs were elicited in terms of neurotoxicity. The overall set of data implicates chemicals resulting from wildfires in clear deleterious effects in exposed fish.

Assessment of burn severity in Middle Povozhje with Landsat multitemporal data

Forests of Middle Povolzhje in the Russian Federation were seriously affected by severe wildfires in 2010. The importance of accurate estimation of burn severity levels is because fire-affected areas may have important societal, ecological and economic consequences to the region. The aim of the study was to explore the performance of the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) and Composite Burn Index (CBI) to evaluate the burnt forest areas of the 2010 wildfires in the Republics of Mari El and Chuvashia of the Russian Federation with the use of Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) time series images. In total, 625 forest sites were sampled for ground-based burn severity data following the CBI protocol. Both datasets for Mari El and Chuvashia were statistically similar with correlation coefficients of 0.87, which confirms pooling them into a single dataset for the forests of Middle Povozhje. A non-linear third-degree polynomial model form of third order best represented the relationship (R2=0.79) between the dNBR and CBI data. Our model estimates that the total forest burnt area on the study area was 113000ha in 2010, mostly in coniferous stands. Almost half (45.9% or 51900ha) of the burnt forest areas were classified in the high-severity category. The accuracy assessment shows that severity classification results were accurate for estimating burn severity levels, with both producer’s and user’s accuracies higher than 80% for the unburned, low and high classes. Lower user and producer accuracies were noticed for the moderate class of burn severity.

Annual runoff and erosion in a recently burn Mediterranean forest – The effects of plowing and time-since-fire

The impacts of forest fires on runoff and soil erosion have been assessed by many studies, so the effects of fires on the hydrological and geomorphological processes of burnt forest areas, globally and in the Mediterranean region, are well established. Few studies, however, have assessed post-fire runoff and erosion on large time scales. In addition, a limited number of studies are available that consider the effect of pre-fire land management practices on post-fire runoff and erosion.This study evaluated annual runoff and sediment losses, at micro plot scale, for 4years after a wildfire in three eucalypt plantations with different pre-fire land management practices (i.e., plowed and unplowed). During the four years following the fire, runoff amounts and coefficients at the downslope plowed (1257mm, 26%) and contour plowed eucalypt sites (1915mm, 40%) were higher than at the unplowed site (865mm, 14%). Sediment losses over the 4years of study were also consistently higher at the two plowed sites (respectively, 0.47 and 0.83Mgha−1y−1 at the downslope and contour plowed eucalypt site) than at the unplowed site (0.11Mgha−1y−1). Aside from pre-fire land management, time-since-fire also seemed to significantly affect post-fire annual runoff and erosion. In general, annual runoff amounts and erosion rates followed the rainfall pattern. Runoff amounts presented a peak during the third year of monitoring while erosion rates reached their maximum one year earlier, in the second year. Runoff coefficients increased over the 4years of monitoring, in disagreement to the window of disturbance post-fire recovery model, but sediment concentrations decreased over the study period.When compared with other long-term post-fire studies and with studies evaluating the effects of pre- and post-fire management practices, the results of the present work suggest that an ecosystem's recovery after fire is highly dependent on the background of disturbances of each site, as runoff and erosion values were higher at the plowed sites than at the unplowed site.

DETEKSI AREA BEKAS KEBAKARAN HUTAN DAN LAHAN MENGGUNAKAN DATA CITRA RESOLUSI MENENGAH MODIS DENGAN PENDEKATAN INDEKS KEBAKARAN

This research examined the use of fire index algorithms to detect and recognize the burnt area in West Kalimantan by applying the pre-fire and post-fire image comparison technique. The main data used were derived from remotely sensed data MODIS acquired from Januari to April 2014. The examined algorithms utilized the near-infrared (NIR) and short-infrared (SWIR) wavelength spectrums. in the case of forest and land fires, occured the value of NIR decreases as the amount of chlorophyll decrease, while the pixel values and the inceasing value of SWIR will increase due to the rising temperature. The research objective was to the capability of the algorithms in detecting burnt forest and land areas in several selected areas in West Kalimantan, using few indices generated from MODIS data. The examined indices were NDFI (Normalized Difference Fire Index) and MNDFI (Modified Normalized Difference Fire Index), which utilize the reflectance values of band 2 (NIR) and band 7 (SWIR) from MODIS. The study results show that both the NDFI and MNDFI were applicable in detecting burnt area having good performance with the Normalize Distance (D) values larger than 1. Based on D-Value and accuracy assessment, MNDFI algorithm gave better index than the NDFI in detecting both forest and land areas.