Comparative Spatiotemporal Statistical Analysis of Southern California Wildfire Regimes

Comparative Spatiotemporal Statistical Analysis of Southern California Wildfire Regimes PDF Author: Gina M. Gerlich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Drought and wildfire occurrences are predicted to compound due to global climate change, especially in Mediterranean climates. Therefore, researching potential wildfire determinants is imperative in preparing for and managing future wildfires. The primary goal of this research was to determine if specific environmental, spatial, and human-based variables can explain large wildfire occurrences in Southern California during four designated wildfire regimes, which are drought and post-drought years within the two fire seasons (i.e., dry and Santa Ana (SA) wind fire seasons), between 2012 and 2019 utilizing binary logistic regression models. The secondary goal was to map the predictive patterns of large wildfire occurrences in Southern California. This research used remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and evapotranspiration (ET) datasets. This research also used other raster datasets, such as precipitation, wind, aspect, slope, and digital elevation model (DEM). Various vector derived raster datasets were also used, such as distance to roads, powerlines, cities, and campgrounds, ecoregions, and the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Wildfire occurrences are influenced by anthropogenic, environmental, and spatial factors; however, once ignition occurs and wildfires begin to spread, the environmental factors become more significant in fueling large wildfires. The results indicated that lower NDVI values were the strongest predictor when wildfires were smaller in terms of area burned and when less wildfires occurred. Higher wind speeds were the strongest predictor when wildfires were larger. However, higher LST values were the strongest predictor when wind was not a significant contributor to the model. These conclusions determine that large wildfires are mostly explained by wind, and when wind is not a significant contributor, then LST takes on that role, as these two variables have the ability to dry vegetation and to spread wildfires. This research further establishes the potential for early detections of large wildfires based on wildfire prediction patterns, provides useful information for resource issuance and wildfire management, and enhances general knowledge of the predicted extreme wildfire events in Southern California.

Comparative Spatiotemporal Statistical Analysis of Southern California Wildfire Regimes

Comparative Spatiotemporal Statistical Analysis of Southern California Wildfire Regimes PDF Author: Gina M. Gerlich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Drought and wildfire occurrences are predicted to compound due to global climate change, especially in Mediterranean climates. Therefore, researching potential wildfire determinants is imperative in preparing for and managing future wildfires. The primary goal of this research was to determine if specific environmental, spatial, and human-based variables can explain large wildfire occurrences in Southern California during four designated wildfire regimes, which are drought and post-drought years within the two fire seasons (i.e., dry and Santa Ana (SA) wind fire seasons), between 2012 and 2019 utilizing binary logistic regression models. The secondary goal was to map the predictive patterns of large wildfire occurrences in Southern California. This research used remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and evapotranspiration (ET) datasets. This research also used other raster datasets, such as precipitation, wind, aspect, slope, and digital elevation model (DEM). Various vector derived raster datasets were also used, such as distance to roads, powerlines, cities, and campgrounds, ecoregions, and the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Wildfire occurrences are influenced by anthropogenic, environmental, and spatial factors; however, once ignition occurs and wildfires begin to spread, the environmental factors become more significant in fueling large wildfires. The results indicated that lower NDVI values were the strongest predictor when wildfires were smaller in terms of area burned and when less wildfires occurred. Higher wind speeds were the strongest predictor when wildfires were larger. However, higher LST values were the strongest predictor when wind was not a significant contributor to the model. These conclusions determine that large wildfires are mostly explained by wind, and when wind is not a significant contributor, then LST takes on that role, as these two variables have the ability to dry vegetation and to spread wildfires. This research further establishes the potential for early detections of large wildfires based on wildfire prediction patterns, provides useful information for resource issuance and wildfire management, and enhances general knowledge of the predicted extreme wildfire events in Southern California.

Climate Change, Growth, and California Wildfire

Climate Change, Growth, and California Wildfire PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biotic communities
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Book Description


The Costs of Wildfire in California:

The Costs of Wildfire in California: PDF Author: California Council on Science and Technology
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781930117723
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Using Fire Return Interval Departure (FRID) Analysis to Map Spatial and Temporal Changes in Fire Frequency on National Forest Lands in California

Using Fire Return Interval Departure (FRID) Analysis to Map Spatial and Temporal Changes in Fire Frequency on National Forest Lands in California PDF Author: Hugh D. Safford
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest fires
Languages : en
Pages : 59

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Book Description
In California, fire regimes and related ecosystem processes have been altered by land use practices associated with Euro-American settlement, and climate warming is exacerbating the magnitude and effects of these changes. Because of changing environmental baselines, restoration of narrowly defined historical conditions may no longer be an attainable or sustainable long-term management goal, but comparisons between historical and current fire regimes can assist managers in prioritizing areas for ecological restoration and other management actions. Fire return interval departure (FRID) analysis quantifies the difference between current and presettlement fire frequencies. We assessed FRID variability along geographic, climatic, and vegetation gradients in California on lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and three forest-dominated national parks, using two types of FRID metrics: percent FRID (PFRID), and the NPS-FRID index. Much of northern California north of the Tehachapi Mountains has missed multiple fire cycles owing to fire suppression, while southern California is characterized by large areas burning at higher frequencies than under presettlement conditions. PFRID exhibited a unimodal (hump-shaped) relationship to elevation across our study area. PFRID showed little relationship to precipitation in northwest California or the Sierra Nevada region, but it decreased with precipitation in southern California. PFRID trends with temperature were unimodal, reaching a maximum at temperatures that approximate the elevation of the mean freezing line in winter storms, which also marks the transition between moist mixed conifer and red fir in most of northern California. Low- and middle-elevation vegetation types supported the greatest departures from presettlement fire frequencies, with oak woodlands, yellow pine, and mixed-conifer forests missing the most fire cycles, and coastal fir, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral tending to experience shorter FRIs than under presettlement conditions. Our results help refine our understanding of departures from presettlement fire regimes across California, and provide a spatial basis for resource management and planning focused on ecological restoration and adaptation to climate change in a fire-prone region.

Density Estimation for Statistics and Data Analysis

Density Estimation for Statistics and Data Analysis PDF Author: Bernard. W. Silverman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351456172
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Although there has been a surge of interest in density estimation in recent years, much of the published research has been concerned with purely technical matters with insufficient emphasis given to the technique's practical value. Furthermore, the subject has been rather inaccessible to the general statistician. The account presented in this book places emphasis on topics of methodological importance, in the hope that this will facilitate broader practical application of density estimation and also encourage research into relevant theoretical work. The book also provides an introduction to the subject for those with general interests in statistics. The important role of density estimation as a graphical technique is reflected by the inclusion of more than 50 graphs and figures throughout the text. Several contexts in which density estimation can be used are discussed, including the exploration and presentation of data, nonparametric discriminant analysis, cluster analysis, simulation and the bootstrap, bump hunting, projection pursuit, and the estimation of hazard rates and other quantities that depend on the density. This book includes general survey of methods available for density estimation. The Kernel method, both for univariate and multivariate data, is discussed in detail, with particular emphasis on ways of deciding how much to smooth and on computation aspects. Attention is also given to adaptive methods, which smooth to a greater degree in the tails of the distribution, and to methods based on the idea of penalized likelihood.

Ecosystems of California

Ecosystems of California PDF Author: Harold Mooney
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520278801
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 1008

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Book Description
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.

The Landscape Ecology of Fire

The Landscape Ecology of Fire PDF Author: Donald McKenzie
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400703015
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Global warming is expected to change fire regimes, likely increasing the severity and extent of wildfires in many ecosystems around the world. What will be the landscape-scale effects of these altered fire regimes? Within what theoretical contexts can we accurately assess these effects? We explore the possible effects of altered fire regimes on landscape patch dynamics, dominant species (tree, shrub, or herbaceous) and succession, sensitive and invasive plant and animal species and communities, and ecosystem function. Ultimately, we must consider the human dimension: what are the policy and management implications of increased fire disturbance, and what are the implications for human communities?

Managing Campfire Impacts in the Backcountry

Managing Campfire Impacts in the Backcountry PDF Author: David N. Cole
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Campfires
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Book Description


Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States PDF Author: U.S. Global Change Research Program
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521144078
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
Summarizes the science of climate change and impacts on the United States, for the public and policymakers.

The Economics of Forest Disturbances

The Economics of Forest Disturbances PDF Author: Thomas P. Holmes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402043708
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
by Peter J. Roussopoulos, Director, Southern Research Station The world and its ecosystems are repeatedly punctuated by natural disturbances, and human societies must learn to manage this reality Often severe and unp- dictable, dynamic natural forces disrupt human welfare and alter the structure and composition of natural systems Over the past century, land management ag- cies within the United States have relied on science to improve the sustainable management of natural resources Forest economics research can help advance this scientifc basis by integrating knowledge of forest disturbance processes with their economic causes and consequences As the twenty-frst century unfolds, people increasingly seek the goods and services provided by forest ecosystems, not only for wood supply, clean water, and leisure pursuits, but also to establish residential communities that are removed from the hustle and bustle of urban life As vividly demonstrated during the past few years, Santa Ana winds can blow wildfres down from the mountains of California, incinerating homes as readily as vegetation in the canyons below Hurricanes can fatten large swaths of forest land, while associated foods create havoc for urban and rural residents alike Less dramatic, but more insidious, trees and forest stands are succumbing to exotic insects and diseases, causing economic losses to private property values (including timber) as well as scenic and recreation values As human demands on public and private forests expand, science-based solutions need to be identifed so that social needs can be balanced with the vagaries of forest disturbance processes