Chapter 6
REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST FIRES
Current limitations and future prospects
1.
INTRODUCTION
Wildland fires are a critical environmental process worldwide. They are
the main responsible of atmospheric pollution in tropical latitudes (Crutzen
et al., 1979), the principal agent of deforestation and land use change in the
rain forest (Malingreau, 1990), and one of the most prominent sources of
land degradation in Mediterranean areas of Europe.
2.
REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST FIRES
The main contributions of remote sensing to forest fires may be
grouped in three categories, according to the three phases of fire
management: risk estimation (before the fire), detection (during the fire) and
assessment (after the fire).
2.1
Fire risk estimation
The estimation of fire risk requires obtaining up to date information on
vegetation water status, which is closely related to probability of ignition.
Traditionally, this parameter has been estimated from meteorological data.
However, there are two problems for the operational use of weather data.
Firstly, vegetation species do not respond equally to changes in weather
conditions, since physiological mechanisms and soil characteristics greatly
affect the water stress resistance of live plants. Secondly, weather stations
47
M.M. Verstraete et al. (eds.), Observing Land from Space: Science, Customers and Technology, 47–51.
© 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
E. Chuvieco
Department of Geography, University of Alcalá, Spain.
REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST FIRES
Current limitations and future prospects
1.
INTRODUCTION
Wildland fires are a critical environmental process worldwide. They are
the main responsible of atmospheric pollution in tropical latitudes (Crutzen
et al., 1979), the principal agent of deforestation and land use change in the
rain forest (Malingreau, 1990), and one of the most prominent sources of
land degradation in Mediterranean areas of Europe.
2.
REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST FIRES
The main contributions of remote sensing to forest fires may be
grouped in three categories, according to the three phases of fire
management: risk estimation (before the fire), detection (during the fire) and
assessment (after the fire).
2.1
Fire risk estimation
The estimation of fire risk requires obtaining up to date information on
vegetation water status, which is closely related to probability of ignition.
Traditionally, this parameter has been estimated from meteorological data.
However, there are two problems for the operational use of weather data.
Firstly, vegetation species do not respond equally to changes in weather
conditions, since physiological mechanisms and soil characteristics greatly
affect the water stress resistance of live plants. Secondly, weather stations
47
M.M. Verstraete et al. (eds.), Observing Land from Space: Science, Customers and Technology, 47–51.
© 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
E. Chuvieco
Department of Geography, University of Alcalá, Spain.