Live Fuel Moisture Content Derived from Remote Sensing Estimates in Temperate Shrublands and Grasslands

Abstract

Live fuel moisture content (LFMC) is a key variable in fire danger assessment. Recent studies have developed reasonably accurate models to determine LFMC in Mediterranean ecosystems by the inversion of radiative transfer models within ecologically based parameters. However, areas with temperate climate have received less attention. The objective of this study was to estimate LFMC for temperate grassland and shrubland located in the Eurosiberian region of Spain. To achieve this, we first assessed the adequacy of already published Mediterranean models to the Eurosiberian region. Secondly, we recalibrated the Mediterranean models to better resample temperate ecosystems by using ecological data collected in field. Finally, we proposed an alternative inversion procedure based on the look up table (LUT) technique. Reflectance from the first seven bands of MODIS and the NDII6 vegetation index were used to achieve this. The last approach was the one that efficiently estimated LFMC, mainly for higher danger situations (RMSE equals 30.6åÊ and 18.81percent for grassland and shrubland with LFMC of less than 200åÊ and 105 percent, respectively). This approach can be used together with previous models developed for Mediterranean grassland and shrubland to monitor LFMC of the Iberian Peninsula with a standardized methodology. Show more