Fire ignition and propagation depend on Live Fuel Moisture Content (LFMC). Fuels with high LFMC take longer to ignite and water acts as a heat sink, slowing down fire spread and intensity. Fire management tools require comprehensive spatial and temporal LFMC coverage that limits field sampling to validate remote sensing estimates. High temporal remote sensing, like MODIS, captures daily changes in LFMC. This presentation compares LFMC satellite MODIS products across validation sites around the globe, generated in collaboration with Dr Marta Yebra. 

 

 

Dr David Riaño is a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies, in the Visiting Fellowship Program. His work focuses on developing robust quantitative methods to predict the risk of wildfire, monitor existing wildfires, and assess the impacts of fire on various ecosystem types. He has analyzed information from the local to the global scale by combining field with remote sensing data and GIS/modeling tools to address these topics. His research has been funded by NASA, the European Union, and the Spanish Ministry for Research. David is an Emeritus Associate Researcher at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research and Associate Project Scientist at the University of California, Davis.