LANDFIRE Remap -- First in an ongoing series*
by Julia Deis, LANDFIRE Operations Lead, Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (SGT), Inc., Technical Support Services (TSSC) Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Contact Julia.
Remap is a comprehensive vegetation and fuels mapping effort designed to produce new base maps of the LF product suite. Consistent methodologies and processes - including access to the most current satellite imagery, contemporary data sources and software and hardware technologies - are being combined with broadening program partnerships to create a product that improves upon the updated versions of legacy LF National.
Particular focus is being given to mapping methodologies that span several topical areas, including LF
Reference Database (LFRDB), Satellite Image Compositing, Lifeform
modeling, Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) modeling, and Vegetation Structure
modeling.
Specifically, Remap is amending the existing EVH and and Existing Vegetation Cover
(EVC) legends to represent continuous percent cover and height to represent the
landscape structure characteristics and variability at a finer thematic
resolution, on which fire fuel modeling is greatly dependent. Continuous
structure products are possible by enhancing reference data through
incorporating lidar data in combination with the LFRDB.
LF and Lidar
Although there are tens
of thousands of LFRDB plots across the United States, structure data
gaps remain in several regions. Incorporating lidar observations increases
reference data and reduce vegetation structure data gaps. LF is aware that
lidar data are not available everywhere and is building a modeling process that
attempts to mitigate this issue.
During the remap process LF found that incorporating lidar data in the two prototype areas (Grand
Canyon and Northwest) increased the amount of EVC reference data by 310% in the
Grand Canyon area, and by 79% in the Northwest area. Further results of LF Remap
prototyping in the two study areas confirm that incorporating lidar-derived
plots increases reference data considerably, resulting in a more comprehensive
reference database that better represents the continuous nature of vegetation
structure characteristics than using reference plots alone. Including lidar
reference plots has shown higher correlations with validation plots for both
EVC and EVH, indicating the inclusion of lidar reference data increases
vegetation structure model accuracies.
More information
Click here for access to an informative poster that explains the scope of the project.
*Remap series:
Part One: Using Top Technology to Improve LF Products
Part Two: Improving Surface Water Mask
Part Three: Disturbance Modeling
Part Four: LF Remap, Landsat, and User Input