Monitoring post-burn recovery of chaparral vegetation in southern California using multi-temporal satellite data

Monitoring the post-burn recovery condition of chaparral vegetation in southern California is important for managers to determine the appropriate time to conduct controlled burns. Due to the di culty of monitoring post-® re recovery over large areas and the absence of detailed ® re records in many areas, we examined the possibility of using satellite observations to establish the post® re recovery stage of chamise chaparral stands in this region. SPOT XS data collected on three dates between 1986 and 1992 were analysed to determine if temporal changes in a spectral vegetation index tracked the expected post-® re recovery trajectory of the above-ground biomass of chamise chaparral stands of varying post-® re ages. Results of the study indicated that neither the normalized di€ erence vegetation index nor the soil adjusted vegetation index followed the expected post-® re recovery patterns in these stands. These ® ndings are explained by interannual variations in precipitation having a larger than expected e€ ect on the growth of this drought-resistant evergreen community, with changes in green leaf area dominating the temporal variations in the spectral vegetation indices.