Inferring energy incident on sensors in low-intensity surface fires from remotely sensed radiation and using it to predict tree stem injury
Matthew B. Dickinson
A F , Bret W. Butler B , Andrew T. Hudak C , Benjamin C. Bright C , Robert L. Kremens D and Carine Klauberg E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 359 Main Road, Delaware, OH 43015, USA.
B USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, 5775 US Highway 10 West, Missoula, MT 59801, USA.
C USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 1221 South Main Street, Moscow, ID 83843, USA.
D Rochester Institute of Technology, Carlson Center for Imaging Science, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA.
E Federal University of São João Del Rei – UFSJ, Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais 35701‐970, Brazil.
F Corresponding author. Email: mbdickinson@fs.fed.us
International Journal of Wildland Fire 28(3) 230-236 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18164
Submitted: 12 March 2018 Accepted: 5 December 2018 Published: 14 March 2019
Abstract
Remotely sensed radiation, attractive for its spatial and temporal coverage, offers a means of inferring energy deposition in fires (e.g. on soils, fuels and tree stems) but coordinated remote and in situ (in-flame) measurements are lacking. We relate remotely sensed measurements of fire radiative energy density (FRED) from nadir (overhead) radiometers on towers and the Wildfire Airborne Sensor Program (WASP) infrared camera on a piloted, fixed-wing aircraft to energy incident on in situ, horizontally oriented, wide-angle total flux sensors positioned ~0.5 m above ground level. Measurements were obtained in non-forested herbaceous and shrub-dominated sites and in (forested) longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Miller) savanna. Using log–log scaling to reveal downward bias, incident energy was positively related to FRED from nadir radiometers (R2 = 0.47) and WASP (R2 = 0.50). As a demonstration of how this result could be used to describe ecological effects, we predict stem injury for turkey oak (Quercus laevis Walter), a common tree species at our study site, using incident energy inferred from remotely sensed FRED. On average, larger-diameter stems were expected to be killed in the forested than in the non-forested sites. Though the approach appears promising, challenges remain for remote and in situ measurement.
Additional keywords: Eglin Air Force Base, fire behaviour, fire effects, fire radiated energy, longleaf pine, Pinus palustris, Quercus laevis, RxCADRE project, tree mortality, turkey oak, Wildfire Airborne Sensor Program (WASP).
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