气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Assessing burn severity and vegetation restoration in Alberta's boreal forests following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire

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DOI	10.1080/27658511.2024.2361569
	Assessing burn severity and vegetation restoration in Alberta's boreal forests following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire - a remote sensing time-series study
	Xu, Eric; Wei, Mary; Li, Tiffany; Lei, Victor; Gao, Jennifer; Wang, Nathan; He, Yuhong
发表日期	2024
ISSN	2765-8511
起始页码	10
结束页码	1
卷号	10 期号:1
英文摘要	Forest fires play a crucial role in resetting boreal ecosystems and steering ecological succession dynamics. However, the escalating impacts of global climate change are anticipated to increase the frequency, intensity, and size of wildfires, leading to significant economic, ecological, and social consequences. To effectively address fire risk and optimize post-fire management strategies, close monitoring, assessment, and understanding of the spatial heterogeneity of wildfires and their impacts are essential. Remote sensing, with its extensive historical records, provides a cost-effective means to examine wildfires. This study focuses on a significant wildfire event that occurred in May 2016 that made a substantial impact on Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) Platform, Landsat images time series covering pre- and post-fire (2015 to 2023), and land cover maps, we delineated the fire's extent and conducted a comprehensive assessment of variations in burn severity and subsequent vegetation recovery. The Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) was calculated from Landsat images to measure burn extent, burn severity, and burn spatial variability. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used for post-fire vegetation recovery analysis. Our findings reveal that 53.5% of the burn area experienced fire damage. Swamps and forests experienced the most intense burns (dNBR of 0.55 for swamps and 0.41 for forests) due to denser vegetation and biomass. Grasslands had moderate burn severity (dNBR of 0.281). In contrast, bogs, marshes, and fens showed lower dNBR values (0.15, 0.12, and -0.003), indicating low to no burns, likely due to their wetter conditions acting as natural firebreaks. NDVI changes indicate varying rates of vegetation recovery post-wildfire across different land cover types. In fen and marsh areas, NDVI was initially at 0.66 and 0.65 in 2015, dropped slightly in 2016, but rebounded by 2017, showing resilience. Swamps' NDVI declined from 0.69 in 2015 to 0.46 in 2016, recovering to 0.72 by 2020. Grasslands' NDVI dropped from 0.81 to 0.64 in 2016, recovering quickly to 0.80 by 2020. Forests' NDVI decreased from 0.72 to 0.51 in 2016, with a gradual recovery to 0.67 by 2023, suggesting a slower recovery process. While NDVI values indicate a fast vegetation recovery for most land cover types, a deeper analysis suggests a transitional phase where past forests are now dominated by other vegetation types. The findings suggest that fire management strategies must integrate both immediate response and long-term recovery plans to ensure robust fire prevention and adequate rehabilitation resources for affected areas.
英文关键词	Remote sensing; wildfire; severity; recovery; Landsat; NDVI; dNBR; Google Earth Engine
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology
WOS类目	Environmental Sciences
WOS记录号	WOS:001237340800001
来源期刊	SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/293045
作者单位	University of Toronto; University Toronto Mississauga
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Xu, Eric,Wei, Mary,Li, Tiffany,et al. Assessing burn severity and vegetation restoration in Alberta's boreal forests following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire - a remote sensing time-series study[J],2024,10(1).
APA	Xu, Eric.,Wei, Mary.,Li, Tiffany.,Lei, Victor.,Gao, Jennifer.,...&He, Yuhong.(2024).Assessing burn severity and vegetation restoration in Alberta's boreal forests following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire - a remote sensing time-series study.SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT,10(1).
MLA	Xu, Eric,et al."Assessing burn severity and vegetation restoration in Alberta's boreal forests following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire - a remote sensing time-series study".SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT 10.1(2024).