The California Air Resources Board makes annual estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from wildfires. The Emissions Estimation System used by CARB uses statewide maps of fuel conditions across California from LANDFIRE and data on wildfire occurence to estimate the emissions caused by wildfires each year.
Working with CARB researchers, I developed a system for generating annual updates to the LANDFIRE fuels maps. These annual updates incorporate feedbacks between disturbances (such as wildfire) and fuel conditions, improving the accuracy of CARB’s wildfire emissions estimates. The updated mapping system is being used by CARB to generate wildfire emissions estimates.
Photo credit: Stacey Frederick