Journal Highlights Forest Service Early Warning System
Science Contact: William Hargrove, william.w.hargrove@usda.gov or (828) 257-4846
News Release Contact: Stephanie Worley Firley, sworleyfirley@fs.fed.us or (828) 257-4380
ASHEVILLE, NC (December 11, 2009)—A national early warning system designed to assist land managers in rapidly detecting threats to forest health is featured in the cover article of the October 2009 issue of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (PE&RS), the journal of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). The article, entitled “Toward a National Early Warning System for Forest Disturbances Using Remotely Sensed Canopy Phenology,” describes the vision and progress of the system in development by partners from the U.S. Forest Service Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC), Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center, and NASA Stennis Space Center.
The initial stages of the early warning system include use of satellite imagery in combination with aerial and on-the-ground observations to monitor forest health. The next stage, and a key component of the system, is the incorporation of data on land surface phenology—the expected seasonal vegetation changes such as spring leaf out and fall leaf color change and drop—to create weekly maps of U.S. vegetation (e.g., forest) change.
“Land surface phenologies can be used to characterize normal, ‘expected’ conditions and thus can help a warning system determine where and when vegetation has changed,” says William Hargrove, EFETAC research ecologist and lead author of the PE&RS article. “The goal of this system is to allow analysis of vegetation change on a weekly basis at a national scale to provide near real-time information on forest conditions as they are impacted by insects, diseases, wildfires, or extreme weather events.”
Researchers are employing the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite to generate the land surface phenology data that underlie the weekly landcover maps. “Work thus far has been promising,” says Joe Spruce, a senior scientist working at NASA Stennis Space Center. “We can clearly detect regional patterns of forest disturbance from the MODIS data.” Soon, land managers and other interested users will be able to access these disturbance detection products online. “We think that timely regional forest change detection products in a format that is easily accessible will help provide new, previously unavailable early warnings of prevalent forest threats. This application will enable new ways to monitor vital signs of forests and to respond where threats occur,” says Spruce.
For more information about the early warning system or to view the PE&RS article online, visit http://www.forestthreats.org.
For More Information
Contact William Hargrove at (828) 257-4846, email william.w.hargrove@usda.gov.
About EFETAC
Established in 2005, EFETAC is actively developing new technology and tools to anticipate and respond to emerging forest threats. Headquartered with the Southern Research Station in Asheville, the Center also has an office in Research Triangle Park, NC. Visit http://www.forestthreats.org for additional information.
About the Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center
The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center generates and integrates knowledge and information to provide credible prediction, early detection, and quantitative assessment of environmental threats in the western United States. For additional information, please visit http://www.fs.fed.us/wwetac/.
About NASA Stennis Space Center
NASA Stennis Space Center has conducted applied remote sensing projects since the 1970s. It is a multidisciplinary federal facility of 30 federal, state, academic private organizations, and technology-based companies engaged in the implementation of space, oceans, environmental, and the national defense programs. Visit http://www.ssc.nasa.gov for additional information.
About ASPRS
The mission of the ASPRS is to advance knowledge and improve understanding of mapping sciences and to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and supporting technologies. Visit http://www.asprs.org for additional information.
