The use of MODIS-simulated spectral bands for monitoring plant water stress as a help for dynamic fire risk assessment

Carmine Maffei; Antonio P. Leone; Mauro Vella; Giuseppe Meoli; Massimo Menenti

doi:10.1117/12.689905

17 October 2006 The use of MODIS-simulated spectral bands for monitoring plant water stress as a help for dynamic fire risk assessment

Carmine Maffei, Antonio P. Leone, Mauro Vella, Giuseppe Meoli, Massimo Menenti

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6359, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology VIII; 63590Q (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.689905
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2006, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

Forest fires are one of the major environmental issues in large areas of Southern Italy, and more generally in Mediterranean Europe. Biomass burning reduces carbon fixation in terrestrial vegetation, while risk of soil erosion increases in burned areas. The premier action against fires is prevention, and in this context fire risk mapping is an invaluable tool. Various factors, either static or dynamic, contribute to the definition of fire risk. Among them, vegetation moisture plays a key role, since forests susceptibility to fire increases with increasing plant water stress and biomass dryness. A tool is needed to allow a timely detection of such forest conditions, and space-borne and airborne remote sensing can be very effective to this end. Many authors have demonstrated the role of remote sensing in the assessment of vegetation moisture. Various multi-spectral systems have been reported to be useful, such as Landsat TM, SPOT or NOAA AVHRR. We have recently started a research to evaluate fire risk in the rural environment of Southern Italy using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS), carried on board of EOS Terra and Aqua satellites. The MODIS systems have 20 spectral wavebands covering the visible, the near infrared and the shortwave infrared with a spectral resolution of 10-50 nm. This paper describes the results of a preliminary experiment to identify the most useful bands or band combinations (spectral indexes) for the detection of biological indicators of plant water stress. PROSPECT radiative transfer code has been adopted to simulate leaf reflectance as a function of leaf properties. Results highlighted the potential of single and combined simulated MODIS bands in the retrieval of vegetation moisture indicators related to fire risk.

Citation Download Citation

Carmine Maffei, Antonio P. Leone, Mauro Vella, Giuseppe Meoli, and Massimo Menenti "The use of MODIS-simulated spectral bands for monitoring plant water stress as a help for dynamic fire risk assessment", Proc. SPIE 6359, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology VIII, 63590Q (17 October 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.689905

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