Hyperspectral and Lidar Remote Sensing Of Forest Fuel Loads in Jilliby State Conservation Area
Forest fuel load is an important factor in fire behaviour and fire suppression and is commonly used as a predictor of fire hazard. Unlike weather and topography, humans can change the available quantities of fuels, making it an important variable for land managers. The Jilliby State Conservation Area has historically been managed for native forestry and provides a diverse arrangement of aspect, slope and fuels. Fuel loads were measured in the field using a combination of visual assessments and destructive sampling at 130 plots. Remote sensing data was acquired near simultaneously with the fieldwork using a range of sensors that included the HyMap hyperspectral scanner, a high resolution digital optical scanner, SPOT, ASTER and Landsat, as well as Lidar. The combination of an active, canopy penetrating sensor and high spectral and spatial resolution optical instruments has proven ideal for the assessment of spatially and temporally variable fuel characteristics. This project is a collaboration between a range of state government agencies and the CRC for Spatial Information and funded through the NSW Rural Fire Service with Natural Disaster Risk Management Studies Program (NDRMSP) funds.