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<br />USGS Wildland Fire Research
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<br />USGS Wildland Fire Research
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<br />Introduction
<br />
<br />Wildland fire (fig. 1) is a serious and growing hazard over much of the
<br />United States, posing a great threat to life and property, particularly
<br />when it moves from forest or rangeland into developed areas.
<br />However, wildland fire is also a natural process, and its suppression is
<br />now recognized to have created a larger fire hazard, as live and dead
<br />vegetation accumulates in areas where fire has been excluded. In
<br />" addition, the absence of fire has altered or disrupted the cycle of
<br />i natural plant succession and wildlife habitat in many areas.
<br />-=onsequentIY, U.S. land management agencies are committed to finding ways, such as
<br />prescribed burning to reintroduce fire into natural ecosystems, while recognizing that fire
<br />fighting and suppression are still important. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts
<br />fire-related research to meet the varied needs of the fire management community and to
<br />understand the role of fire in the landscape; this research includes fire management
<br />support, studies of postfire effects, and a wide range of studies on fire history and
<br />ecology.
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<br />Fire Management Support
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<br />Greenness Mapping
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<br />Land and fire managers rely upon accurate and timely information
<br />to help reduce wildland fire hazards. Since the early 1990's, the
<br />EROS Data Center (EDC) in Sioux Falls, S, Dak., has been
<br />producing weekly and biweekly maps for the 48 contiguous states
<br />and Alaska that display plant growth and vigor, vegetation cover,
<br />and biomass production, using multispectral data from satellites of
<br />the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOM). The
<br />ability to measure vegetation greenness over time provides fire
<br />'ananagers vital information concerning vegetation conditions for any 2-week period (fig.
<br />W2). EDC also produces maps that relate current vegetation conditions for the 2-week
<br />period to average (normal) conditions for the same period during the past 7 years. The
<br />two types of images provide comprehensive growing season profiles for forests,
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<br />http://www.usgs.gov/themes/Wildfire/fire.html
<br />
<br />8/15/02
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