Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Condition and Resilience
Active
By Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
May 31, 2019
Satellite imagery provides a powerful tool to enhance our understanding of how landscapes respond to agents of change, such as extreme climate events, wildfire and other disturbance events, and human land use activities. This research integrates multiple sources of satellite imagery with ancillary datasets to explore how ecosystems respond to and recover from mechanisms of change. Current research is focused on (1) how changes in wetlands and surface water storage inform downstream water availability, (2) improving our capacity to integrate remotely sensed surface water data into decision-making, (3) characterizing patterns and trends in post-wildfire condition and recovery, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of wildfire risk management actions such as fuel treatments, prescribed fires, and post-fire plantings.
Why this Research is Important
Extreme events like droughts, floods, and fires have large impacts on the health and safety of nearby communities. We use data from satellites to help us understand how these extreme events produce changes in water quantity, quality and distribution, as well as the extent of fire damage and post-fire revegetation, information that can help us manage natural systems and protect communities. The analysis of satellite imagery enables us to provide cutting edge science in a cost-efficient manner to both support the needs of local communities and scale easily to support national or global priorities.
Collaboration
Collaborations with research partners are a key component of this project. Currently we are actively collaborating with partners from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tall Timbers Research Station, and Academic partners.
Filter Total Items: 19
Generated Burn Severity Offset Correction Values for a Composite Burn Index Field Plot Dataset Generated Burn Severity Offset Correction Values for a Composite Burn Index Field Plot Dataset
Phenological correction of pre- and post-fire imagery is used to improve remotely-sensed burn severity predictions by standardizing vegetation greenness between image pairs. However, the efficacy of existing methods across diverse fire conditions and scenarios remains underexplored. In this study, we evaluated the impact of phenological offset corrections across various methodological...
Data release for integrating remotely sensed surface water dynamics in hydrologic signature modeling Data release for integrating remotely sensed surface water dynamics in hydrologic signature modeling
Variability in river discharge, particularly very high flow and low flow conditions, has far-reaching environmental and economic consequences. The retention of water in surface storage, concentrated in lakes, ponds, wetlands, floodplains, and temporary water in flood prone areas, can potentially contribute to flow generation and flood regulation. However, the impact of surface water...
Earth Observation Assessment (EOA) 2023 Tableau Dashboard Data Earth Observation Assessment (EOA) 2023 Tableau Dashboard Data
The Earth Observation Assessment (EOA) is a Congressionally-directed periodic evaluation of the nation's civil Earth observation portfolio. This portfolio comprises both remote and in-situ sensors, operated by both the public and the private sector. The Earth Observation Assessment measures the effectiveness of the civil Earth observation system in meeting federal government objectives...
Annual burn severity mosaics for the southeastern United States (2000-2022) Annual burn severity mosaics for the southeastern United States (2000-2022)
The southeastern United States experiences frequent wild and prescribed fire activity. Mapped burn severity products in the southeastern U.S. face challenges accurately characterizing fire effects due to rapid post-fire recovery limiting observation windows, limited availability of cloud-free imagery, spectral confusion within wetland areas, and operational constraints. As mapped burn...
Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering >536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms were...
The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026) The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm uses predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering greater than 536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms...
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release) Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release)
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for fire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have contributed to risk to homes. We fit a random forest using weather, land cover, topography, and past fire history to predict burn probabilities and uncertainty...
Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026) Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026)
Fire history metrics enable rapidly increasing amounts of burned area data to be collapsed into a handful of data layers that can be used efficiently by diverse stakeholders. In this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat Burned Area product was used to identify burned area across CONUS over a 41-year period (1984-2024). The Landsat BA product was consolidated into a suite of...
Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness
Global wind energy has expanded 5-fold since 2010 and is predicted to expand another 8�10-fold over the next 30 years. Wakes generated by wind turbines can alter downwind microclimates and potentially downwind vegetation. However, the design of past studies has made it difficult to isolate the impact of wake effects on vegetation from land cover change. We used hourly wind data to model...
Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019) Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019)
Wildfires and prescribed fires are frequent but under-mapped across wetlands of the southeastern United States . High annual precipitation supports rapid post-fire recovery of wetland vegetation, while associated cloud cover limits clear-sky observations. In addition, the low burn severity of prescribed fires and spectral confusion between fluctuating water levels and burned areas have...
The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022) The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally-dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm makes use of predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Filter Total Items: 25
Offsetting the noise: A framework for applying phenological offset corrections in remotely sensed burn severity assessments Offsetting the noise: A framework for applying phenological offset corrections in remotely sensed burn severity assessments
Background Phenological correction of pre- and post-fire imagery is used to improve remotely sensed burn severity evaluations. Unburned offset values standardize greenness between image pairs; however, efficacy across diverse scenarios remains underexplored.Aims We evaluated the impact of phenological offset correction methods to support analyst decision-making across fire-prone...
Authors
Casey Elizabeth Menick, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Joshua J. Picotte, Alicia L. Reiner, Robert A. Chastain
Estimates of global surface water dynamics harnessing near real-time land cover observations and open science geospatial capabilities Estimates of global surface water dynamics harnessing near real-time land cover observations and open science geospatial capabilities
Spatio-temporal changes to our world’s surface water resources are escalating. Translating how these changes impact communities and ecosystems requires time-varying data of Global Surface Water Extents (GSWE). Traditionally, GSWE mapping has been limited to static estimates, with recent efforts focusing on annual averages, frequency and occurrence of long-term variations. Building upon...
Authors
Arushi Khare, Bikas C. Gupta, Adnan Rajib, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Qiusheng Wu
Relating surface water dynamics in wetlands and lakes to spatial variability in hydrologic signatures Relating surface water dynamics in wetlands and lakes to spatial variability in hydrologic signatures
The retention of surface water in wetlands and lakes can modify the timing, duration, and magnitude of river discharge. However, efforts to characterize the influence of surface water on discharge regimes have been generally limited to small, wetland-dense watersheds. We developed random forest models to explain spatial variability in six hydrologic signatures, reflecting flashiness...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Peter Nieuwlandt, Heather E. Golden, Charles R. Lane, Jay R. Christensen, William Keenan, Wayana Dolan
Small waterbodies of large conservation concern: Towards an integrated approach to more accurately measuring surface water dynamics Small waterbodies of large conservation concern: Towards an integrated approach to more accurately measuring surface water dynamics
Millions of small waterbodies are dispersed throughout the middle of the North American continent, and billions of dollars have been invested to conserve, restore, and manage these waterbodies in the 20th and 21st centuries. Small waterbody conservation has been supported by different stakeholders aiming at improving water quality, enhancing floodwater storage, and supporting migratory...
Authors
Owen P. McKenna, Audrey Claire Lothspeich, Sara Vacek, Dawn MacDonald, Josh D. Eash, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Elyssa C. McCulloch, Caryn D. Ross, Sadia Sabrina, Joseph F. Knight
Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches
The number of large, high-severity wildfires has been increasing across the western United States over the last several decades. It is not fully understood how changes in the frequency of large, severe wildfires may impact the resilience of conifer forests, due to alterations in regeneration success or failure. Our research investigates 30 years of conifer recovery patterns within 34...
Authors
Casey Menick, Wade T. Tinkham, Chad Hoffman, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jody C. Vogeler
Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States
Climate change is projected to impact river, lake, and wetland hydrology, with global implications for the condition and productivity of aquatic ecosystems. We integrated Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based algorithms to track monthly surface water extent (2017–2021) for 32 sites across the central United States (U.S.). Median surface water extent was highly variable across sites, ranging...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jay R. Christensen, Laurie C. Alexander, Charles R. Lane, Heather E. Golden
High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
Frequent observations of surface water at fine spatial scales will provide critical data to support the management of aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites can provide such observations, but algorithms are still needed that perform well across diverse climate and vegetation conditions. We developed surface inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Laurie C. Alexander, Jay R. Christensen, Kylen Solvik, Peter Joseph Nieuwlandt, Mallory Annelle Prentiss
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for wildfire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have altered risk to homes, or the potential for wildfire to threaten homes. We used a random forests model to predict burn probability in relation to weather variables...
Authors
Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Amanda R. Carlson, Miranda H. Mockrin, Volker C. Radeloff
Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience
Watershed resilience is the ability of a watershed to maintain its characteristic system state while concurrently resisting, adapting to, and reorganizing after hydrological (for example, drought, flooding) or biogeochemical (for example, excessive nutrient) disturbances. Vulnerable waters include non-floodplain wetlands and headwater streams, abundant watershed components representing...
Authors
Charles R. Lane, Irena F. Creed, Heather E. Golden, Scott G. Leibowitz, David M. Mushet, Mark C. Rains, Qiusheng Wu, Ellen D’Amico, Laurie C. Alexander, Genevieve A. Ali, Nandita B. Basu, Micah G. Bennett, Jay R. Christensen, Matthew J. Cohen, Tim P. Covino, Ben DeVries, Ryan A. Hill, Kelsey G. Jencso, Megan W. Lang, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jennifer Rover, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK
One of the main challenges of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in forest data acquisition is the implementation of Ground Control Points (GCPs) as a mandatory step, which is sometimes impossible for inaccessible areas or within canopy closures. This study aimed to test the accuracy of a UAV-mounted GNSS RTK (real-time kinematic) system for calculating tree height and crown height...
Authors
Morteza Pourreza, Fardin Moradi, Mohammad Khosravi, Azade Deljouei, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019) Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019)
Prescribed fires and wildfires are common in wetland ecosystems across the Southeastern United States. However, the wetland burned area has been chronically underestimated across the region due to (1) spectral confusion between open water and burned area, (2) rapid post-fire vegetation regrowth, and (3) high annual precipitation limiting clear-sky satellite observations. We developed a...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Casey Teske, Andrea Ku, Joe Noble, Joshua J. Picotte
Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA
Development of comprehensive spatially explicit fire occurrence data remains one of the most critical needs for fire managers globally, and especially for conservation across the southeastern United States. Not only are many endangered species and ecosystems in that region reliant on frequent fire, but fire risk analysis, prescribed fire planning, and fire behavior modeling are sensitive...
Authors
Casey Teske, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Joe Noble, J. Kevin Hires
Satellite imagery provides a powerful tool to enhance our understanding of how landscapes respond to agents of change, such as extreme climate events, wildfire and other disturbance events, and human land use activities. This research integrates multiple sources of satellite imagery with ancillary datasets to explore how ecosystems respond to and recover from mechanisms of change. Current research is focused on (1) how changes in wetlands and surface water storage inform downstream water availability, (2) improving our capacity to integrate remotely sensed surface water data into decision-making, (3) characterizing patterns and trends in post-wildfire condition and recovery, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of wildfire risk management actions such as fuel treatments, prescribed fires, and post-fire plantings.
Why this Research is Important
Extreme events like droughts, floods, and fires have large impacts on the health and safety of nearby communities. We use data from satellites to help us understand how these extreme events produce changes in water quantity, quality and distribution, as well as the extent of fire damage and post-fire revegetation, information that can help us manage natural systems and protect communities. The analysis of satellite imagery enables us to provide cutting edge science in a cost-efficient manner to both support the needs of local communities and scale easily to support national or global priorities.
Collaboration
Collaborations with research partners are a key component of this project. Currently we are actively collaborating with partners from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tall Timbers Research Station, and Academic partners.
Filter Total Items: 19
Generated Burn Severity Offset Correction Values for a Composite Burn Index Field Plot Dataset Generated Burn Severity Offset Correction Values for a Composite Burn Index Field Plot Dataset
Phenological correction of pre- and post-fire imagery is used to improve remotely-sensed burn severity predictions by standardizing vegetation greenness between image pairs. However, the efficacy of existing methods across diverse fire conditions and scenarios remains underexplored. In this study, we evaluated the impact of phenological offset corrections across various methodological...
Data release for integrating remotely sensed surface water dynamics in hydrologic signature modeling Data release for integrating remotely sensed surface water dynamics in hydrologic signature modeling
Variability in river discharge, particularly very high flow and low flow conditions, has far-reaching environmental and economic consequences. The retention of water in surface storage, concentrated in lakes, ponds, wetlands, floodplains, and temporary water in flood prone areas, can potentially contribute to flow generation and flood regulation. However, the impact of surface water...
Earth Observation Assessment (EOA) 2023 Tableau Dashboard Data Earth Observation Assessment (EOA) 2023 Tableau Dashboard Data
The Earth Observation Assessment (EOA) is a Congressionally-directed periodic evaluation of the nation's civil Earth observation portfolio. This portfolio comprises both remote and in-situ sensors, operated by both the public and the private sector. The Earth Observation Assessment measures the effectiveness of the civil Earth observation system in meeting federal government objectives...
Annual burn severity mosaics for the southeastern United States (2000-2022) Annual burn severity mosaics for the southeastern United States (2000-2022)
The southeastern United States experiences frequent wild and prescribed fire activity. Mapped burn severity products in the southeastern U.S. face challenges accurately characterizing fire effects due to rapid post-fire recovery limiting observation windows, limited availability of cloud-free imagery, spectral confusion within wetland areas, and operational constraints. As mapped burn...
Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering >536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms were...
The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026) The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm uses predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering greater than 536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms...
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release) Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release)
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for fire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have contributed to risk to homes. We fit a random forest using weather, land cover, topography, and past fire history to predict burn probabilities and uncertainty...
Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026) Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026)
Fire history metrics enable rapidly increasing amounts of burned area data to be collapsed into a handful of data layers that can be used efficiently by diverse stakeholders. In this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat Burned Area product was used to identify burned area across CONUS over a 41-year period (1984-2024). The Landsat BA product was consolidated into a suite of...
Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness
Global wind energy has expanded 5-fold since 2010 and is predicted to expand another 8�10-fold over the next 30 years. Wakes generated by wind turbines can alter downwind microclimates and potentially downwind vegetation. However, the design of past studies has made it difficult to isolate the impact of wake effects on vegetation from land cover change. We used hourly wind data to model...
Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019) Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019)
Wildfires and prescribed fires are frequent but under-mapped across wetlands of the southeastern United States . High annual precipitation supports rapid post-fire recovery of wetland vegetation, while associated cloud cover limits clear-sky observations. In addition, the low burn severity of prescribed fires and spectral confusion between fluctuating water levels and burned areas have...
The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022) The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally-dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm makes use of predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Filter Total Items: 25
Offsetting the noise: A framework for applying phenological offset corrections in remotely sensed burn severity assessments Offsetting the noise: A framework for applying phenological offset corrections in remotely sensed burn severity assessments
Background Phenological correction of pre- and post-fire imagery is used to improve remotely sensed burn severity evaluations. Unburned offset values standardize greenness between image pairs; however, efficacy across diverse scenarios remains underexplored.Aims We evaluated the impact of phenological offset correction methods to support analyst decision-making across fire-prone...
Authors
Casey Elizabeth Menick, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Joshua J. Picotte, Alicia L. Reiner, Robert A. Chastain
Estimates of global surface water dynamics harnessing near real-time land cover observations and open science geospatial capabilities Estimates of global surface water dynamics harnessing near real-time land cover observations and open science geospatial capabilities
Spatio-temporal changes to our world’s surface water resources are escalating. Translating how these changes impact communities and ecosystems requires time-varying data of Global Surface Water Extents (GSWE). Traditionally, GSWE mapping has been limited to static estimates, with recent efforts focusing on annual averages, frequency and occurrence of long-term variations. Building upon...
Authors
Arushi Khare, Bikas C. Gupta, Adnan Rajib, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Qiusheng Wu
Relating surface water dynamics in wetlands and lakes to spatial variability in hydrologic signatures Relating surface water dynamics in wetlands and lakes to spatial variability in hydrologic signatures
The retention of surface water in wetlands and lakes can modify the timing, duration, and magnitude of river discharge. However, efforts to characterize the influence of surface water on discharge regimes have been generally limited to small, wetland-dense watersheds. We developed random forest models to explain spatial variability in six hydrologic signatures, reflecting flashiness...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Peter Nieuwlandt, Heather E. Golden, Charles R. Lane, Jay R. Christensen, William Keenan, Wayana Dolan
Small waterbodies of large conservation concern: Towards an integrated approach to more accurately measuring surface water dynamics Small waterbodies of large conservation concern: Towards an integrated approach to more accurately measuring surface water dynamics
Millions of small waterbodies are dispersed throughout the middle of the North American continent, and billions of dollars have been invested to conserve, restore, and manage these waterbodies in the 20th and 21st centuries. Small waterbody conservation has been supported by different stakeholders aiming at improving water quality, enhancing floodwater storage, and supporting migratory...
Authors
Owen P. McKenna, Audrey Claire Lothspeich, Sara Vacek, Dawn MacDonald, Josh D. Eash, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Elyssa C. McCulloch, Caryn D. Ross, Sadia Sabrina, Joseph F. Knight
Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches
The number of large, high-severity wildfires has been increasing across the western United States over the last several decades. It is not fully understood how changes in the frequency of large, severe wildfires may impact the resilience of conifer forests, due to alterations in regeneration success or failure. Our research investigates 30 years of conifer recovery patterns within 34...
Authors
Casey Menick, Wade T. Tinkham, Chad Hoffman, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jody C. Vogeler
Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States
Climate change is projected to impact river, lake, and wetland hydrology, with global implications for the condition and productivity of aquatic ecosystems. We integrated Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based algorithms to track monthly surface water extent (2017–2021) for 32 sites across the central United States (U.S.). Median surface water extent was highly variable across sites, ranging...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jay R. Christensen, Laurie C. Alexander, Charles R. Lane, Heather E. Golden
High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
Frequent observations of surface water at fine spatial scales will provide critical data to support the management of aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites can provide such observations, but algorithms are still needed that perform well across diverse climate and vegetation conditions. We developed surface inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Laurie C. Alexander, Jay R. Christensen, Kylen Solvik, Peter Joseph Nieuwlandt, Mallory Annelle Prentiss
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for wildfire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have altered risk to homes, or the potential for wildfire to threaten homes. We used a random forests model to predict burn probability in relation to weather variables...
Authors
Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Amanda R. Carlson, Miranda H. Mockrin, Volker C. Radeloff
Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience
Watershed resilience is the ability of a watershed to maintain its characteristic system state while concurrently resisting, adapting to, and reorganizing after hydrological (for example, drought, flooding) or biogeochemical (for example, excessive nutrient) disturbances. Vulnerable waters include non-floodplain wetlands and headwater streams, abundant watershed components representing...
Authors
Charles R. Lane, Irena F. Creed, Heather E. Golden, Scott G. Leibowitz, David M. Mushet, Mark C. Rains, Qiusheng Wu, Ellen D’Amico, Laurie C. Alexander, Genevieve A. Ali, Nandita B. Basu, Micah G. Bennett, Jay R. Christensen, Matthew J. Cohen, Tim P. Covino, Ben DeVries, Ryan A. Hill, Kelsey G. Jencso, Megan W. Lang, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jennifer Rover, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK
One of the main challenges of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in forest data acquisition is the implementation of Ground Control Points (GCPs) as a mandatory step, which is sometimes impossible for inaccessible areas or within canopy closures. This study aimed to test the accuracy of a UAV-mounted GNSS RTK (real-time kinematic) system for calculating tree height and crown height...
Authors
Morteza Pourreza, Fardin Moradi, Mohammad Khosravi, Azade Deljouei, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019) Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019)
Prescribed fires and wildfires are common in wetland ecosystems across the Southeastern United States. However, the wetland burned area has been chronically underestimated across the region due to (1) spectral confusion between open water and burned area, (2) rapid post-fire vegetation regrowth, and (3) high annual precipitation limiting clear-sky satellite observations. We developed a...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Casey Teske, Andrea Ku, Joe Noble, Joshua J. Picotte
Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA
Development of comprehensive spatially explicit fire occurrence data remains one of the most critical needs for fire managers globally, and especially for conservation across the southeastern United States. Not only are many endangered species and ecosystems in that region reliant on frequent fire, but fire risk analysis, prescribed fire planning, and fire behavior modeling are sensitive...
Authors
Casey Teske, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Joe Noble, J. Kevin Hires