Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas

Eames, Tom; Russell‐Smith, Jeremy; Yates, Cameron; Edwards, Andrew C.; Vernooij, Roland; Ribeiro, Natasha; Steinbruch, Franziska; Werf, Guido R. van der

doi:10.3390/fire4010002

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Using UA in South Africa and Mozambique, the researchers explained the effects of different fractions of combustible materials (shrubs, bark, broken trees, grass) on ignition. UAVs, equipped with multispectral cameras, along with meteorological data from ERA-5 obtained the necessary data to model the degree of fire hazard (Eames, et al, 2021).…”

Section: Uas Historical Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

Possibilities and Restrictions on the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Security Work in Latvia

Veinbergs

Kisnica

2021

EIS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have become available not only in the military environment, but to every member of society. They can be effectively used in security work, although, if used unprofessionally, UA can pose a threat to the public or the protected object. The aim of the article is to find evidence that the use of UA for the protection of a security object can be of a technical nature. With the introduction of UA as a part of technical equipment for security work, it would be possible to immediately inspect the guarded object and track and/ or detain persons with criminal intent, or transfer the data obtained by the video camera recording system to the State Police. The primary data of the research was collected using the survey method, where the general set of research was compiled by security companies that have received the required license for the provision of Technical Security by the State Police. The experience of using UAV in Latvia and in the international environment has been analysed using the case study method; secondary data has been obtained from statistical databases and scientific literature, as well as from publicly available sources. The results of the research theoretically reflect the effectiveness of the use of UA and UAS in security work, which will provide an opportunity to reasonably conduct practical research in the security industry environment.

show abstract

Section: Uas Historical Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

Possibilities and Restrictions on the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Security Work in Latvia

Veinbergs

Kisnica

2021

EIS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Table 2 shows that these studies were focused on biomass estimation and other forest structural attributes. Only three of these studies included other forest applications, namely: (i) height estimates of woody vegetation for monitoring disturbance from fire and grazing [19], (ii) use of multispectral UAS imagery to estimate pre-fire AGB for the purpose of quantifying the fuel load [20] and (iii) extracted tree crown morphology for predicting tree species [21]. With the continuous improvement of UAS platforms, sensors and processing technologies, the number of applications in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to increase, making it necessary to undertake a review of UAS applications in forestry to understand the associated opportunities and challenges in forest monitoring and management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Application of UASs in Forest Management and Monitoring: Challenges and Opportunities for Use in the Miombo Woodland

Shamaoma

Chirwa

Ramoelo

et al. 2022

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Miombo woodland is the most extensive tropical woodland in south-central Africa. However, field sample plot data on forest cover changes, species distribution and carbon stocks in the Miombo ecoregion are inadequate for effective forest management. Owing to logistical challenges that come with field-based inventory methods, remote sensing plays an important role in supplementing field methods to fill in data gaps. Traditional satellite and manned aircraft remote sensing platforms have their own advantages and limitations. The advent of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) has made it possible to acquire forest data at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales. UASs are adaptable to various forest applications in terms of providing flexibility in data acquisition with different sensors (RGB, multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal and light detection and ranging (lidar)) at a convenient time. To highlight possible applications in the Miombo woodlands, we first provide an overview of the Miombo woodlands and recent progress in remote sensing with small UASs. An overview of some potential forest applications was undertaken to identify key prospects and challenges for UAS applications in the Miombo region, which will provide expertise and guidance upon which future applications in the Miombo woodlands should be based. While much of the potential of using UASs for forest data acquisition in the Miombo woodlands remains to be realized, it is likely that the next few years will see such systems being used to provide data for an ever-increasing range of forest applications.

show abstract

“…Dit resulteerde in een reeks laboratorium-brandexperimenten (beschreven in Hoofdstuk 2) om de aërosol sensoren te kalibreren voor het meten van pyrogene deeltjes. Naast het meten van EF's werden de voorgeschreven brandcampagnes in het KNP en EESGT ook gebruikt om een methode te ontwikkelen voor het in kaart brengen van de hoeveelheid en samenstelling van de brandstof en de extensie van branden met behulp van een Micasense rededge multispectrale camera, zoals verder toegelicht in Eames et al (2021).…”

Section: Doel Van Dit Onderzoek En Introductie Van De Meetmethodeunclassified

“…After the fire, we revisited the plots and recorded various fire severity proxies including the combustion completeness of various fuel classes as well as fire intensity proxies (e.g. patchiness of the fire, and scorch and char heights) following the methodology outlined by Eames et al (2021) and Russell-Smith et al (2020). Table 5.1 lists the individual UAS EF-measurement campaigns, and whether fuel was collected following the abovementioned methodology.…”

Section: Fuel Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This started off a series of laboratory fire-experiments to calibrate the aerosol equipment for BB particles, which are described in Chapter 2. Beyond focussing on the measurement of EFs, the prescribed burning campaigns in the KNP and EESGT were also used to develop a method for mapping fuel load and burned area using a Micasense rededge multispectral camera, which is further outlined in Eames et al (2021).…”

Section: Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Savanna fire emission factors

Vernooij

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biomass burning emission factors (BB EFs) exhibit significant variations across the savanna biome due to environmental conditions and fuel composition. Although we understand some factors contributing to this variability, quantifying their impact for integration into BB emission models has been limited by the absence of in situ EF measurements, especially concerning temporal dynamics. Traditional measurement methods are costly, time-consuming, and potentially biased toward either flaming (in airborne sampling) or smoldering (ground sampling) combustion products. To expand the spatiotemporal coverage of in situ measurements, we aimed to develop a versatile approach applicable to both prescribed and non-prescribed burns. We conducted four measurement campaigns in South Africa's Kruger National Park (KNP) and three in Brazil's Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins (EESGT) to create a drone (UAS)-based sampling system and a measurement strategy for savanna landscape fires. In KNP, we compared UAS bag samples with continuous emission measurements from a passing fire front using a measurement mast. This confirmed the UAS's suitability for measuring fire-averaged trace gas EFs and hinted at the potential use of lightweight particle sensors for aerosol EF measurements, which led to laboratory fire experiments for aerosol equipment calibration. Beyond EF measurements, we utilized prescribed burning campaigns in KNP and EESGT to develop a method for mapping fuel load and burned area with a Micasense rededge multispectral camera. Subsequently, after developing and calibrating the EF measurement methodology, we captured the spatiotemporal variability of EFs and fuel conditions across the savanna biome. We targeted frequently burning vegetation types across a moisture availability gradient, conducting campaigns in both early dry season (EDS) and late dry season (LDS) for each vegetation type. Over four years, we measured EFs of CO, CO2, CH4, and NO in Botswana, Australia (xeric savannas), Mozambique, and Zambia (mesic savannas). We also assessed pre- and post-fire fuel parameters. While some aspects of our approach could have been improved, such as site representativeness due to the challenges of finding safe, representative areas in the natural landscape, our extensive dataset on savanna fire EFs represents a significant step towards dynamic EF integration into global models. We identified factors impacting EFs, such as fractional tree cover and timing of measurements, and related them to fuel and meteorological conditions using satellite data. To transform this EF measurement dataset into a modeling framework for global assessments, we experimented with various regression methods, including machine learning techniques. These models, informed by satellite data for spatiotemporal extrapolation, substantially enhanced the estimation of gas EFs across the savanna biome. They indicate a redistribution with higher EFs of reduced gases in mesic savannas and lower EFs in xeric savannas. These models will serve as the foundation for a spatiotemporal assessment of EFs in savannas, to be utilized in GFED5.

show abstract

Instantaneous Pre-Fire Biomass and Fuel Load Measurements from Multi-Spectral UAS Mapping in Southern African Savannas

Cited by 12 publications

References 44 publications

Possibilities and Restrictions on the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Security Work in Latvia

Possibilities and Restrictions on the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Security Work in Latvia

The Application of UASs in Forest Management and Monitoring: Challenges and Opportunities for Use in the Miombo Woodland

Savanna fire emission factors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About