Characterizing Wildfire and Prescribed Fire Impacts on Vegetation and Soil: Towards Standardizing Existing Fire Metric Terminology and Understanding Gaps in Measuring and Monitoring Fire’s Impacts on Ecosystems
Characterizing Wildfire and Prescribed Fire Impacts on Vegetation and Soil: Towards Standardizing Existing Fire Metric Terminology and Understanding Gaps in Measuring and Monitoring Fire’s Impacts on Ecosystems
Session ID#: 282533
Session Description:
Fire-induced disturbances to vegetation and soil have critical impacts on ecosystems. Distinct metrics are required to describe the fire's characteristics, initial post-fire conditions, and its long-term impacts. Within the fire ecology and soil science literature, these metrics are known to be confusing, inconsistently applied, or, in some cases, not quantified (J. Gaudinski et al., 2026; DOI 10.1016/j.earscirev.2026.105481). As part of the NASA FireSense Project, the conveners of this workshop are enhancing products for the Burn Severity Portal maintained by USGS-EROS (Earth Resources Observation and Science). We invite talks by those assessing the impacts of fire on vegetation and soils, including the use of remote sensing and/or ground-based measures to characterize fire and its impacts. This session will include a panel discussion on terminology and methods to address current gaps in measuring and monitoring the impacts of fire on ecosystems and inform enhancements to the Burn Severity Portal.
Co-Sponsor(s):
- EP - Earth and Planetary Surface Processes
- GC - Global Environmental Change
- NH - Natural Hazards
Index Terms:
0439 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
0476 Plant ecology [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
0486 Soils/pedology [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
1640 Remote sensing [GLOBAL CHANGE]
Primary Convener: Julia B Gaudinski, San Jose State University, Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, San Jose, CA, United States
Conveners: Mary Ellen Miller, Michigan Technological University, Michigan Tech Research Institute, Ann Arbor, MI, United States and James J Guilinger, Idaho State University, Idaho Falls, ID, United States
See more of: Biogeosciences