Doctoral Dissertation Research: Burned Area Mapping in Tallgrass Prairie Using In Situ Spectrometry and TM and MODIS Imagery

虽然遥感已被广泛而有效地用于绘制各种景观中的烧毁地区地图，但这一领域的研究将受益于在诸如高草草原等较少调查的覆盖类型中开展的额外工作。这一点很重要，因为各种覆盖类型对火灾的反应不同，而为其他覆盖类型（如森林、稀树草原）开发的技术不一定适用于高草草原。在堪萨斯州立大学地理系Doug Goodin教授的指导下，博士生Rhett Mohler将承担一项研究项目，该项目将确定最有效的遥感工具，用于区分被烧毁和未被烧毁的草原。这些工具还可以区分被烧毁的草原和其他植被类型。该学生还将在一个生长季节监测被烧毁的草地，并最终重建堪萨斯州和俄克拉荷马州弗林特山的时空火灾历史。本研究的结果将有助于通过探索研究较少的覆盖类型（高草草原）来更广泛地了解烧伤面积制图。此外，这项工作将解决与焚烧有关的管理和社会问题，因为它将产生对推广工作人员和利益攸关方的教育和培训有用的信息。这将确保在研究人员、推广人员和当地牧场主之间建立伙伴关系——如果要根据可靠的科学知识管理高草草原，使所有相关人员受益，这种关系是至关重要的。最后，这个博士论文研究改进奖将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的，独立的研究事业。

While remote sensing has been used extensively and effectively to map burned areas in a wide variety of landscapes, research in this area would benefit from additional work in less frequently investigated cover types such as tallgrass prairie. This is important because various cover types respond differently to fire, and techniques developed for other cover types (e.g., forest, savannah) cannot necessarily be applied to tallgrass prairie. Doctoral student Rhett Mohler, under the supervision of Professor Doug Goodin in the Department of Geography at Kansas State University, will undertake a research project that will determine the most effective remote sensing tools to use for differentiating burned and unburned prairie grasslands. These tools will also differentiate between burned grasslands other vegetation types. The student will also monitor burned grasslands over one growing season, and finally reconstruct the spatio-temporal fire history of the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma.Results of this study will contribute to the broader understanding of burned area mapping by exploring less-studied cover type (tallgrass prairie). Furthermore, this work will address management and societal concerns associated with burning because it will generate information useful for education and training by extension staff and stakeholders. This will ensure that partnerships are built between researchers, extension personnel, and local ranchers - a relationship that is vital if tallgrass prairies are to be managed based on sound scientific knowledge for the benefit of all involved. Finally, this Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong, independent research career.