Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas
Landscape fires are substantial sources of (greenhouse) gases and aerosols. Fires in savanna landscapes represent more than half of global fire carbon emissions. Quantifying emissions from fires relies on accurate burned area, fuel load and burning efficiency data. Of these, fuel load remains the so...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-01-01
|
| Series: | Fire |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/1/2 |
| _version_ | 1797411292880830464 |
|---|---|
| author | Tom Eames Jeremy Russell-Smith Cameron Yates Andrew Edwards Roland Vernooij Natasha Ribeiro Franziska Steinbruch Guido R. van der Werf |
| author_facet | Tom Eames Jeremy Russell-Smith Cameron Yates Andrew Edwards Roland Vernooij Natasha Ribeiro Franziska Steinbruch Guido R. van der Werf |
| author_sort | Tom Eames |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Landscape fires are substantial sources of (greenhouse) gases and aerosols. Fires in savanna landscapes represent more than half of global fire carbon emissions. Quantifying emissions from fires relies on accurate burned area, fuel load and burning efficiency data. Of these, fuel load remains the source of the largest uncertainty. In this study, we used high spatial resolution images from an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) mounted multispectral camera, in combination with meteorological data from the ERA-5 land dataset, to model instantaneous pre-fire above-ground biomass. We constrained our model with ground measurements taken in two locations in savanna-dominated regions in Southern Africa, one low-rainfall region (660 mm year<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>) in the North-West District (Ngamiland), Botswana, and one high-rainfall region (940 mm year<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>) in Niassa Province (northern Mozambique). We found that for fine surface fuel classes (live grass and dead plant litter), the model was able to reproduce measured Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) (R<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> of 0.91 and 0.77 for live grass and total fine fuel, respectively) across both low and high rainfall areas. The model was less successful in representing other classes, e.g., woody debris, but in the regions considered, these are less relevant to biomass burning and make smaller contributions to total AGB. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:44:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6980e879134142848fe3aa2624dad20d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:44:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj.art-6980e879134142848fe3aa2624dad20d2023-12-03T13:17:54ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552021-01-0141210.3390/fire4010002Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African SavannasTom Eames0Jeremy Russell-Smith1Cameron Yates2Andrew Edwards3Roland Vernooij4Natasha Ribeiro5Franziska Steinbruch6Guido R. van der Werf7Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The NetherlandsCharles Darwin University, P.O. Box 40146, Casuarina, Darwin NT 0811, AustraliaCharles Darwin University, P.O. Box 40146, Casuarina, Darwin NT 0811, AustraliaCharles Darwin University, P.O. Box 40146, Casuarina, Darwin NT 0811, AustraliaDepartment of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Avenida Julius Nyerere, Street. nr. 3453, Maputo, MozambiqueWildlife Conservation Society Mozambique, Orlando Mendes Street, no.163, Sommerschield, Maputo, MozambiqueDepartment of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The NetherlandsLandscape fires are substantial sources of (greenhouse) gases and aerosols. Fires in savanna landscapes represent more than half of global fire carbon emissions. Quantifying emissions from fires relies on accurate burned area, fuel load and burning efficiency data. Of these, fuel load remains the source of the largest uncertainty. In this study, we used high spatial resolution images from an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) mounted multispectral camera, in combination with meteorological data from the ERA-5 land dataset, to model instantaneous pre-fire above-ground biomass. We constrained our model with ground measurements taken in two locations in savanna-dominated regions in Southern Africa, one low-rainfall region (660 mm year<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>) in the North-West District (Ngamiland), Botswana, and one high-rainfall region (940 mm year<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>) in Niassa Province (northern Mozambique). We found that for fine surface fuel classes (live grass and dead plant litter), the model was able to reproduce measured Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) (R<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> of 0.91 and 0.77 for live grass and total fine fuel, respectively) across both low and high rainfall areas. The model was less successful in representing other classes, e.g., woody debris, but in the regions considered, these are less relevant to biomass burning and make smaller contributions to total AGB.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/1/2burningbiomass burningfuel loadsavanna firedroneUAS |
| spellingShingle | Tom Eames Jeremy Russell-Smith Cameron Yates Andrew Edwards Roland Vernooij Natasha Ribeiro Franziska Steinbruch Guido R. van der Werf Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas Fire burning biomass burning fuel load savanna fire drone UAS |
| title | Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas |
| title_full | Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas |
| title_fullStr | Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas |
| title_short | Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas |
| title_sort | instantaneous pre fire biomass and fuel load measurements from multi spectral uas mapping in southern african savannas |
| topic | burning biomass burning fuel load savanna fire drone UAS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/1/2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tomeames instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas AT jeremyrussellsmith instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas AT cameronyates instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas AT andrewedwards instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas AT rolandvernooij instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas AT natasharibeiro instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas AT franziskasteinbruch instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas AT guidorvanderwerf instantaneousprefirebiomassandfuelloadmeasurementsfrommultispectraluasmappinginsouthernafricansavannas |