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Forestry Sciences Laboratory - Moscow, Idaho
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Soil & Water
Engineering Publications


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William J. Elliot
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Post-wildfire ground cover mapping by spectral unmixing of hyperspectral data

Lewis, S.A.; Hudak, A.T.; Robichaud, P.R.; Lentile, L.B.; Morgan, P.; Bobbitt, M.J. 2006. Post-wildfire ground cover mapping by spectral unmixing of hyperspectral data. In: Greer, J.D., ed. New Remote Sensing Technologies for Resource Managers, Proceedings of the 11th Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 24-28 2006. American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), CD-ROM. 8&npbs;p.

Keywords: mapping, ground cover

Links: pdf PDF [161 KB]

Abstract: The effects of a wildfire on the ground surface are indicative of the potential for post-fire watershed response. Areas with remaining organic ground cover (green, uncharred, or charred) will likely experience less erosion than areas of complete ground cover combustion (ash) or exposed mineral soil, and may not need post-fire rehabilitation treatments. We collected aerial and field hyperspectral data together with field ground cover measurements after the 2003 Simi Fire in southern California in order to create a map of the remaining ground surface components. Spectral endmembers representing green vegetation, charred vegetation, charred soil, and uncharred soil were used in a constrained linear spectral unmixing process to determine the post-fire fractional ground cover of each surface component. Significant correlations (r > 0.2, p-value < 0.0001) were found between the fractional cover interpreted from hyperspectral images and corresponding field measurements indicating that these methods are appropriate for mapping post-fire ground conditions.

Moscow FSL publication no. 2006n