Utility of satellite-derived burn severity to study short- and long-term effects of wildfire on streamflow at the basin scale

Moreno, H. A.; Gourley, Jonathan J.; Pham, Tri G.; Spade, Daniela M.

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124244

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The FTCC method, is however, likely to be very valuable to other areas of catchment water management. The significant bushfires across southern Australia over the summer of 2019/2020 are likely to have substantial future impacts on water resources and especially changes to water yield in both quality and quantity over the next decade (Brown, 1972; Lee, 2020; Moreno et al, 2020). The FTCC method would enable accurate estimates of tree area, pre and post bushfires, to underpin future hydrological catchment yield forecasting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine scale mapping of fractional tree canopy cover to support river basin management

Gao

Castellazzi

Vervoort

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Management of water, regionally, nationally and globally will continue to be a priority and complex undertaking. In riverine systems, biotic components like flora and fauna play critical roles in filtering water so it is available for human use and consumption.Preservation of ecosystems and associated ecosystem functions is therefore vital. In highly regulated large river basins, natural ecosystems are often supported through provision of environmental flows. Flow delivery, however, should be underpinned by rigorous monitoring to identify and prioritise biotic water requirements. Currently, large-scale monitoring solutions are scaled from remote sensing data via measurement of field evapotranspiration for woody tree vegetation species. However, as there is generally a mismatch between field data collection area and remote sensing pixel size, new methods are required to proportion tree evapotranspiration based on tree fractional canopy area per pixel. We present a novel method to derive tree fractional canopy cover (FTCC) at 20 m resolution in semi-arid and arid floodplain areas.The method employs LiDAR as a canopy area field measurement proxy (10 m resolution). We used Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 (radar and multispectral imagery) in a Random Forest analysis, undertaken to develop a predictive FTCC model trained using LiDAR for two regions in the Murray-Darling Basin. A predictor model combining the results of both regions was able to explain between 71%-85% of FTCC variation when compared to LiDAR FTCC when output in 10% increments. Development of this method underpins the advancement of woody vegetation monitoring to inform environmental flow management in the Murray-Darling Basin. The method and fine scale outputs will also be of value to other catchment management concerns such as altered catchment water yields related to bushfires and as such has application to water management worldwide.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine scale mapping of fractional tree canopy cover to support river basin management

Gao

Castellazzi

Vervoort

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Effects of forest disturbance on streamflow is usually identified in watersheds where >20% area is affected by forest fire, MPB, and/or logging (Li et al, 2018; Moreno et al, 2020; Stednick, 1996; Wei & Zhang, 2010; Winkler et al, 2017; Zhang & Wei, 2012). Forest fires are much more destructive to the overall composition of a forest than MPB, with fires decreasing soil infiltration rates, creating water repellent soil characteristics, and decreasing vegetation density at all forest levels (Debano, 2000; Moody et al, 2016; Owens et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Warmer and drier climates tend to increase fuel supply for forest fires, allowing them to more easily spread (Littell, McKenzie, Peterson, & Westerling, 2009). At forest‐stand or small watershed scales, many studies report decreased soil infiltration rates as a result of increasing hydrophobic soils post‐fire leading to increased overland flow, with magnitudes of change dependent on fire severity (Moody et al, 2016; Moreno, Gourley, Pham, & Spade, 2020; Shakesby & Doerr, 2006; Stoof et al, 2012). This increase in overland flow, especially in the wake of large rain events, is linked to increasing maximum flows.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic influences on forest fire and mountain pine beetle outbreaks and resulting runoff effects in large watersheds in British Columbia, Canada

Vore

Déry

Hou

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many studies have defined the interrelationships between climate, forest disturbance, and runoff at small scales (<100 km2), but few have translated these relationships to large watersheds (>500 km2). In this study, we explore the relationship between climate, extreme forest fire seasons, mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreaks, and runoff in eight large watersheds within the Fraser and Peace drainage basins in British Columbia (BC), Canada from 1981–2019. Using a climate index based on precipitation and air temperature anomalies, we find extreme forest fire seasons (those that burned >5% of a watershed's area) are most likely to occur when a warm/dry summer is preceded by multiple seasons of cool/wet conditions. Using the climate suitability class (CSC) model to explore the relationship between climate and MPB outbreaks, we validate previous findings that lower‐than‐average precipitation, warm growing season temperatures, and lack of extremely cold temperatures during winter are connected to MPB outbreaks within central BC. However, the CSC model needs improvements to accurately assess MPB suitability in northern watersheds that are located outside the model's calibration region, either through weighted variables or lower degree day thresholds. Minimal runoff response occurs from these forest disturbances, with the most prominent runoff change being related to the 2014 fire season in the Osilinka and Mesilinka watersheds. The limited effects of forest disturbance on annual runoff are likely related to large watershed sizes, low percentages of disturbed area in some study watersheds and post‐MPB forest dynamics. These results provide valuable insight into the interrelationships of climate, forest disturbance and runoff in large Canadian boreal forested watersheds.

show abstract

“…The FTCC method, is however, likely to be very valuable to other areas of catchment water management. The significant bushfires across southern Australia over the summer of 2019/2020 are likely to have significant future impacts on water resources and especially changes to water yield in both quality and quantity over the next decade (Brown, 1972;Lee, 2020;Moreno et al , 2020). The FTCC method would enable accurate estimates of tree area, pre and post bushfires, to underpin future hydrological catchment yield forecasting.…”

Section: Additional Methods Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine scale mapping of fractional tree canopy cover to support river basin management

Gao

Castellazzi

Doody

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Management of water, regionally, nationally and globally will continue to be a priority and complex undertaking. In riverine systems, biotic components like flora and fauna, play critical roles in filtering water so it is available for human use and consumption. Preservation of ecosystems and associated ecosystem functions is therefore vital. In highly regulated large river basins, natural ecosystems are often supported through provision of environmental flows. Flow delivery, however, should be underpinned by rigorous monitoring to identify and prioritise biotic water requirements. Broadscale monitoring solutions are thus integral and for woody tree vegetation species, this is can be via measurement of field evapotranspiration, regionally scaled using remote sensing. However, as there is generally a mismatch between field data collection area and remote sensing pixel size, new methods are required to proportion tree evapotranspiration based on tree fractional canopy area per pixel. Within, we present a novel method to derive tree fractional canopy cover (FTCC) at 20 m resolution, in semi-arid and arid floodplain areas. The method employs LiDAR as a canopy area field measurement proxy (10 m resolution). Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, radar and multispectral imagery, were used in Random forest analysis, undertaken to develop a predictive FTCC model trained using LiDAR for two regions in the Murray-Darling Basin. A predictor model, combing the results of both regions, was able to explain between 85-91% of FTCC variation when compared to LiDAR FTCC, output in 10% increments. Development of this method underpins the advancement of woody vegetation monitoring to inform environmental flow management in the Murray-Darling Basin. The method and fine scale outputs will also be of value to other catchment management concerns such as altered catchment water yields related to bushfires and as such, has application to water management worldwide.

show abstract

Utility of satellite-derived burn severity to study short- and long-term effects of wildfire on streamflow at the basin scale

Cited by 14 publications

References 59 publications

Fine scale mapping of fractional tree canopy cover to support river basin management

Fine scale mapping of fractional tree canopy cover to support river basin management

Climatic influences on forest fire and mountain pine beetle outbreaks and resulting runoff effects in large watersheds in British Columbia, Canada

Fine scale mapping of fractional tree canopy cover to support river basin management

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About