posted on 2015-02-09, 10:40authored byF. Mouillot, M. G. Schultz, C. Yue, P. Cadule, Kevin Tansey, P. Ciais, E. Chuvieco
Early global estimates of carbon emissions from biomass burning were based on
empirical assumptions of fire return interval in different biomes in the 1980’s. Since
then, significant improvements of spaceborne remote sensing sensors have resulted in
an increasing number of derived products characterising the detection of active fire or
the subsequent burned area. When coupled with global land cover and vegetation
models allowing for spatially explicit fuel biomass estimates, the use of these products
help to yield important information about the spatial and the temporal variability of
emission estimates. The availability of multi-year products (>10 years) leads to a better
understanding of uncertainties in addition to increasing accuracy. We surveyed a wide
range of users of global fire data products whilst also undertaking a review of the latest
scientific literature. Two user groups were identified, the first being global climate and
vegetation modellers and the second being regional land managers.. Based on this
review, we present here the current needs covering the range of end-users. We
identified the increasing use of BA products since the year 2000 with an increasing use
of MODIS as a reference dataset. Scientific topics using these BA products have
increased in diversity and area of application, from global fire emissions (for which BA
products were initially developed) to regional studies with increasing use for ecosystem
management planning. There is a significant need from the atmospheric science
community for low spatial resolution (gridded, ½ degree cell) and long time series data
characterised with supplementary information concerning the accuracy in timing of the
fire and reductions of omission/commission errors. There is also a strong need for
precisely characterising the perimeter and contour of the fire scar for better assimilation
with land cover maps and fire intensity. Computer and earth observation facilities
remain a significant gap between ideal accuracies and the realistic ones, which must
be fully quantified and comprehensive for an actual use in global fire emissions or
regional land management studies.
History
Citation
International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 2014, 26, pp. 64-79 (16)
Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING/Department of Geography/GIS and Remote Sensing
Version
AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Published in
International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation