A General field method for rating burn severity with extended application to remote sensing
Key CH and Benson NC. 1999. A General field method for rating burn severity with extended application to remote sensing. USGS. West Glacier, MT
This work used fires in Glacier Park, MT during 1994 as case studies. From introduction "In this paper, an improved method to quantify burn severity is presented. It is designed to remedy existing shortfalls, and provide a general strategy for burn evaluation, whether by remote sensing or ground observation. Objectives are: 1) a severity rating system that captures the full range of fire effects on individual and composite levels of the ecological community; 2) a system adaptable to a variety of community types; 3) an optimum set of severity indicators, including effects that most likely contribute to reflectance variations detected by remote sensors; 4) a scaled, ratio-level burn severity measure that aids statistical analysis and correlation with various quantities including radiometric data; and 6) a method easy to implement in the field that yields comparable results burn to burn."
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Key, Carl; Benson, Nate
- Date of Issue
- 1999
- Publisher
- USGS
- Units
- GLAC
- Keywords
- Ecology, Fire Ecology, Fire Intensity, Glacier National Park MT, Modeling, Remote Sensing, Research Methods