Fuels and fire behavior modeling using remotely sensed data on the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona

Crouse, Joseph Edward (2005) Fuels and fire behavior modeling using remotely sensed data on the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Multi-date Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite imagery was classified to develop data layers for a portion of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. The data layers were developed to be used as inputs to fire simulation models. Pair-wise comparisons of all mapped layers showed that only four layers were statistically different. Kappa analysis showed that twenty-four of the thirty-nine classified layers were statistically better than chance. Crown fire activity was modeled using the FlamMap fire simulation program. Simulations were run using 10, 40, and 70 km/hr wind speeds. Area of active crown fire increased by 221(percent) between the 10 and 70 km/hr wind speed scenarios. At the landscape-level, mean patch size of active crown fire increased over 700(percent) from the 10 to 70 km/hr wind speed scenarios and the number of patches decreased by 60(percent) between 10 and 70 km/hr wind speed scenarios. At the class-level, active crown fire mean patch size increased slightly in all five forest types (aspen, bristlecone pine, mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, and spruce-fir) with increasing wind speed. The number of patches increased, at the class-level, between the 10 and 40 km/hr wind speed scenarios but tended to decrease between the 40 and 70 km/hr wind speed scenarios. An Erosion Index model to identify areas that had a high potential for erosion was created using slope, coarse woody debris (1000 hour sound and rotten fuels), and heat/area layers created in 10, 40, and 70 km/hr wind speed simulations, as inputs.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Keywords:	Fuels, Fire behavior, San Francisco Peaks, ERI Library
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SD Forestry
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations Research Centers > Ecological Restoration Institute College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > School of Forestry
Date Deposited:	13 Jun 2016 18:45
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/2876

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