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Use of Normalized Difference Water Index for monitoring live fuel moisture

2005; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 26; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/0143116042000273998

1366-5901

Philip E. Dennison, Dar A. Roberts, S. Peterson, Jennifer L. Rechel,

Fire effects on ecosystems

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) were compared for monitoring live fuel moisture in a shrubland ecosystem. Both indices were calculated from 500 m spatial resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance data covering a 33‐month period from 2000 to 2002. Both NDVI and NDWI were positively correlated with live fuel moisture measured by the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD). NDVI had R 2 values ranging between 0.25 to 0.60, while NDWI had significantly higher R 2 values, varying between 0.39 and 0.80. Water absorption measures, such as NDWI, may prove more appropriate for monitoring live fuel moisture than measures of chlorophyll absorption such as NDVI.