HR: 0800h
AN: B21A-0033    [Abstracts]
TI: Comparison of Normalized Burn Ratio, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and Enhanced Vegetation Index in Areas Burned by the Jasper Wildfire of Black Hills South Dakota
AU: * Chen, X
EM: xuchen@usgs.gov
AF: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), contractor to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science. Work performed under USGS contract 03CRCN0001., 7914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, United States
AU: Zhu, Z
EM: zhu@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey(USGS), Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, 7914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, United States
AB: The Jasper wildfire of August and September 2000 was the largest fire to occur in the Black Hills in at least a century. The disturbance on ecosystem characteristics will be widespread and long-term. Monitoring postfire vegetation changes using remote sensing data can provide unique and timely information about ecosystem dynamics. In this study, the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data were derived from Landsat imagery and compared before and after the Jasper fire. Landsat 5 images acquired on June 2, 2000 (preburn), and June 5, 2001 (10 months postburn), were analyzed. In addition, a Landsat 7 image acquired on May 31, 2002 (22 months postburn), was used in the study. Landsat data were converted to at-sensor reflectance, and NBR, NDVI, and EVI values were calculated for low, moderate, and high burn severity areas defined by using the difference of NBR between 2001 and 2000. NBR values in areas characterized as low burn severity changed very little between 2001 and 2002. Meanwhile, areas characterized as moderate or high severity showed substantial increases in NBR values between 2001 and 2002, implying some ecosystem recovery occurring for these areas over a relatively short time. EVI and NDVI show similar patterns of change, but it was found that EVI and NBR indices are more sensitive than is NDVI for capturing vegetation cover changes during the early postfire years. Further research is planned to use Landsat and MODIS imagery to assess spectral trends as a function of time in areas affected by fire.
DE: 0439 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics (4815)
DE: 0480 Remote sensing
DE: 0481 Restoration
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting