Citation

Crowley MA, Stockdale CA, Johnston JM, Wulder MA, Liu T, McCarty JL, Rieb JT, Cardille JA, White JC. Glob. Chang. Biol. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/gcb.16567

PMID

36537002

Abstract

Fire seasons have become increasingly variable and extreme due to changing climatological, ecological, and social conditions. Earth observation data are critical for monitoring fires and their impacts. Herein, we present a whole-systems framework for identifying and synthesizing fire monitoring objectives and data needs throughout the life cycle of a fire event. The four stages of fire monitoring informed using Earth observation data include: 1) pre-fire vegetation inventories, 2) active-fire monitoring, 3) post-fire assessment, and 4) multi-scale synthesis. We identify the challenges and opportunities associated with current approaches to fire monitoring, highlighting four case studies from North American boreal, montane, and grassland ecosystems. While the case studies are localized to these ecosystems and regional contexts, they provide insights for others experiencing similar monitoring challenges worldwide. The field of remote sensing is experiencing a rapid proliferation of new data sources, providing observations that can inform all aspects of our fire monitoring framework; however, significant challenges for meeting fire monitoring objectives remain. We identify future opportunities for data sharing and rapid co-development of information products using cloud computing that benefit from open-access Earth observation and other geospatial data layers.

Language: en

Keywords

wildfires; forest fires; remote sensing; complex systems; Earth observations; fire monitoring; pyrogeography