Dryland Vegetation Dynamics and Landscape Vulnerability to Wildfire
Investigators (most current known information)
Proposal Abstract
Drought, wildfire and precipitation events can have a devastating impact on the sustainable use of dryland resources. The primary objectives of this research were to integrate seasonal and geospatial vegetation and climate data sources (e.g. remotely sensed data) and erosion plot data to assess land degradation and recovery after wildfire events. A geospatial land degradation information system was used to develop seasonal assessments of postfire land degradation potential for sites in Israel, the USA and Spain. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation model was used as the basis for land degradation assessment which also incorporated relief and soil data in combination with geospatial and temporal precipitation and remotely sensed vegetation cover data for sites that were affected by recent fire events. The land degradation model, used as a conceptual framework, has been evaluated in terms of regeneration capacity after fire events. Soil erosion and vegetation data from field plots at the different sites were used to provide ground-based evaluation of postfire recovery trends. Annual 16-day Normalized Difference Vegetation Index time series from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Vegetation were shown to be useful measures of vegetation cover seasonality and recovery for wildfire affected areas. The size, severity and topography of the wildfire affected areas and data collection methods (soil-vegetation characteristics) were different for all selected multi-country sites and required adjustment of data analysis approaches. MODIS NDVI based phenological metrics were extracted to evaluate post-wildfire vegetation recovery. These interannual phenometrics from satellite based NDVI time series were compared between non-burned reference areas and wildfire affected areas and improved our understanding of post-wildfire vegetation recovery dynamics. The timing of bimodal precipitation seasons were modeled and resulted in an assessment of soil loss dynamics. Modeled soil loss estimates were generally higher than the ground based soil loss estimates. However, Modified–RUSLE estimated trends and dynamics of post-fire sediment yield matched very well the ground-based measured trends, pointing out the potential of this model approach to predict post-fire recovery dynamics and relative differences between sites and conditions. The outcomes of this project create the opportunity for land managers to generate seasonally representative maps of land degradation and erosion risk at the regional scale, and to assess the relative importance of factors contributing to land degradation. Both scientists and decision makers can use the project results to assess the ability of landscapes to support natural and anthropogenic land use.
Outcome
Articles in Journals
van Leeuwen, W.J.D. 2008. Monitoring the Effects of Forest Restoration Treatments on Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery with MODIS Multitemporal Data. Sensors 8, 2017-2042.
van Leeuwen, W.J.D. and B.J. Orr. 2006. “Spectral vegetation indices and uncertainty: insights from a user's perspective.” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 44(7): 1931-1933.
Barzilai, R., L. Wittenberg and D. Malkinson. 2007. "The relationship between vegetation regeneration and runoff and sediment yield following a wildfire - a case study from the Carmel Mountain, Israel." In Proceedings of 34th ISEEQS Meetings. Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution . (in press)
Mayor, A.G, Bautista, S., Llovet. J., and J. Bellot. 2007. "Post-fire hydrological and erosional responses of a Mediterranean landscape: Seven years of catchment-scale dynamics." http://dx.doi:10.1016/j.catena.2006.10.006. Catena . (in press).
Tesler, N., L. Wittenberg, D. Malkinson and N. Greenbaum. 2007. "Short and long term recovery processes in the top soil layers following sequential forest fires at the Carmel Mounation, Israel." In Proceedings of 34th ISEEQS Meetings. Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution. (in press).
Wittenberg, L., D. Malkinson, O. Beeri, N. Tesler, N. and A. Halutzy. 2007. "Spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation recovery following sequences of forest fires in a Mediterranean landscape, Mt. Camel Israel." Catena . (in press).
Articles in Journals (In Preparation)
Giovanardi, F.S., S. Bautista, P.R. Robichaud, and V.R. Vallejo. 2008. Environmental factors controlling wildfire impact on catchment sediment yield in a Mediterranean landscape. Geomorphology (in revision).
Tessler, N., L. Wittenberg, D. Malkinson, and N. Greenbaum. 2008. Fire effects and short-term changes in soil water repellency. Mt. Carmel, Israel. Catena (in press).
Bautista, S., D.G. Neary, J. Bellot, and V.R. Vallejo. In Preparation. “Post-fire soil erosion in a semiarid Mediterranean pine forest: no evidences of recovery of pre-fire conditions.” Forest Ecology and Management .
Neary, D., B.J. Orr, W. van Leeuwen, S. Bautista, L. Wittenberg, Y. Carmel, and G. Casady. In Preparation. “A comparison of erosion rates in dryland forests in Arizona, Spain, and Israel.” Forest Ecology and Management.
van Leeuwen, W.J. D., G.M. Casady, D.G. Neary, S. Bautista, J.A. Alloza, Y. Carmel, L. Wittenberg, D. Malkinson, and B.J. Orr. 2008. Monitoring post-wildfire vegetation recovery with remotely sensed time-series data in Spain, USA and Israel.” International Journal of Wildland Fire (in review).
van Leeuwen, W.J.D., G. Casady, and G. Sammons. In Preparation. “Seasonal dynamics of vegetation growth and soil loss in Arizona.”
Wittenberg, L., D. Malkinson, O. Beeri, N. Tesler, N. and A. Halutzy. In Preparation. "Spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation recovery following sequences of forest fires in a Mediterranean landscape, Mt. Camel Israel". Catena .
Conference Proceedings
Orr, B.J., S. Bautista, J.A. Alloza , W.J.D. van Leeuwen, G.M. Casady, J.E. Davison, L. Wittenberg, D. Malkinson, Y. Carmel, and D.G. Neary. 2007. "Satellite-derived vegetation dynamics applied to post-fire vulnerability assessment in eastern Spain." In Proceedings of the 4th International Wildland Fire Conferenc e,13-17 May 2007. Seville, Spain.
López-Poma, R. and S. Bautista. 2006. "Land Use Effect on Post-Fire Plant Recovery in a Mediterranean Mosaic Landscape in Eastern Spain."ISCO 2006. May 14-19 Marrakech.
López-Poma, R. and S. Bautista. 2006. "Land use effect on post-fire plant recovery in Guadalest Valley, SE Spain." International Workshop Towards an ecological restoration network for the Americas, ESA Meeting on Ecology in an Era of Globalization. 8-12 January 2006, Merida, Yucatán, Mexico.
Neary, D.G., B.J. Orr, W. van Leeuwen, S. Bautista Aguilar, L. Wittenberg, and Y. Carmel. 2006. "A multi-country assessment of vegetation dynamics, soil erosion, and watershed degradation after wildfires." In: Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest: Proceedings of the 2005 Meetings of the Arizona Nevada Academy of Science. April 9, 2005, Las Vegas, NV, Vol. 35: 37-46.
Stropki, C.L., P.F. Ffolliott, L.F. DeBano, and D.G. Neary. 2006. "Water repellent soils on the Stermer Ridge watersheds following the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire: A preliminary assessment." Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest 34:47-50.
Garcia, P., P.F. Ffolliott, and D.G. Neary. 2005. "Soil erosion following the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire: an initial assessment." Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest 34:51-56.
Mayor, A.G., S. Bautista, J. Llovet and J. Bellot. 2005. "Post-fire medium-term dynamics of the hydrologic and geomorphologic response of a terraced Mediterranean landscape at the catchment scale." 6th Conference on Geomorphology. Geomorphology in Regions of Environmental Contrasts. Zaragoza, Spain. September 7-11. 2005.
Technical Reports
Neary, D.G., KC. Ryan, L.F. DeBano (editors). 2005. Fire effects on soil and water. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-42, Volume 4: Fort Collins, CO. 250 p.
Presentations
Neary, D.G., B.J. Orr, W. Leeuwen, S. Bautista Aguilar, L. Wittenberg, and Y. Carmel. 2006. A multi-country assessment of vegetation dynamics, soil erosion, and watershed degradation after wildfires. In: Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest: Proceedings of the 2005 Meetings of the Arizona Nevada Academy of Science. April 9, 2005, Las Vegas, NV, Vol. 35: 37-46.
Hertzfeld, M., B.J. Orr, W.J.D. van Leeuwen, G. Casady, S. Bautista, L. Wittenberg, Y. Carmel, and D. Malkinson. 2005-2006. Dryland Vegetation Dynamics and Landscape Vulnerability to Wildfire. Tucson, AZ: Arizona Remote Sensing Center, University of Arizona. Online: http://wildfire.arid.arizona.edu/.
Neary, D., B.J. Orr, W. van Leeuwen, S. Bautista, L. Wittenberg, and Y. Carmel. 2005. A multi-country assessment of vegetation dynamics, soil erosion, and watershed degradation after wildfires (poster). 18th Annual Arizona Hydrological Society Symposium, September 21–24, 2005, Flagstaff, AZ.
Neary, D.G., B.J. Orr, W.J.D. van Leeuwen, G. Casady, S. Bautista, L. Wittenberg, and Y. Carmel. 2005. A multi-country assessment of vegetation dynamics, soil erosion, and watershed degradation after wildfires (abstract/poster). ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, November 6-10, 2005, Salt Lake City, UT. Online: http://crops.confex.com/crops/2005am/techprogram/P2947.HTM.
van Leeuwen, W., B.J. Orr, G. Casady, D.G. Neary, S. Bautista Aguilar, Y. Carmel, and L. Wittenberg. 2005. Seasonal assessments of wildfire effects on land degradation and vegetation dynamics (poster). 4th USGS Wildland Fire Science Workshop. December 6-9, 2005, Tucson, AZ.
Website
Hertzfeld, M., B.J. Orr, W.J.D. van Leeuwen, G. Casady, D.G. Neary, S. Bautista, L. Wittenberg, Y. Carmel, and D. Malkinson. 2004-2006. Dryland Vegetation Dynamics and Landscape Vulnerability to Wildfire. Tucson, AZ: Arizona Remote Sensing Center, University of Arizona. Online:http://wildfire.arid.arizona.edu/.