New estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from biomass burning and peat fires using MODIS Collection 6 burned areas
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The Paris Agreement calls on parties to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change by engaging in appropriate policies and measures as put forward through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to strengthen transparency when reporting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to increase their mitigation contributions to climate action from 2020. It also calls for regular and transparent monitoring and reporting of the GHG emissions and on the NDCs implementation efforts. Biomass fires significantly affect the GHG atmospheric balance, with fire emissions representing more than 5% of total emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU), according to recent estimates produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). We update previously published Tier 1 estimates of GHG emissions in FAOSTAT—which had been used in the IPCC AR5 analysis—by using new burned area activity data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) known as MCD64A1, Collection 6. The previous FAOSTAT estimates had used as input the Global Fire Emission Database v.4 (GFED4) burned area product, based on older MODIS Collection 5.1 burned area product. In line with differences between the input data used, the new FAOSTAT estimates indicate roughly 30% higher fire emissions globally than previously published. Our analysis also confirms that the FAOSTAT Tier 1 approach produces fire emissions estimates that are comparable to those computed at Tier 3 by GFED, and thus represent a useful complementary tool in support of country GHG reporting.
Source: Climatic Change
Authors: Paolo Prosperi, Mario Bloise, Francesco N. Tubiello, Giulia Conchedda, Simone Rossi, Luigi Boschetti, Mirella Salvatore, Martial Bernoux
Language: English
Topic: Fire effects on ecosystems
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,860
Awards: THE GLOBAL WILDFIRE INFORMATION SYSTEM (GWIS) HOSTED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION JOINT RESEARCH CENTER AND DEVELOPED UNDER THE 2015-2016 GEO WORK PROGRAM PROVIDES AN INTERNET BASED PORTAL AND REPOSITORY OF FIRE INFORMATION WITH THE GOAL OF ENABLING A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW AND EVALUATION OF FIRE REGIMES AND FIRE EFFECTS IN SUPPORT OF POLICY MAKING AND NATIONAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. CURRENTLY THE GWIS IS A BETA-VERSION WITH LIMITED CONTENT. THE PROPOSED WORK IS RESPONSIVE TO THE DATA COMPILATION AND ANALYSIS PART OF THE NASA CALL AND WILL PROVIDE GWIS ENHANCEMENTS FOR IMPROVED ON-DEMAND STATISTICS TABULAR INFORMATION AND GRAPHICAL INFORMATION AT STATE/REGIONAL NATIONAL SUB-CONTINENTAL CONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL SCALES; AND AT MONTHLY SEASONAL AND ANNUAL TIME PERIODS BASED ON THE 15+ YEARS OF GLOBAL MODIS COLLECTION 6 FIRE PRODUCTS. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL DEVELOP AND TEST FOR INTEGRATION INTO THE GWIS A SUITE OF SOFTWARE MODULES TO GENERATE SCIENTIFICALLY ACCEPTED REPRODUCIBLE FIRE INFORMATION THAT ARE DOCUMENTED FOR NON-TECHNICAL USERS THAT DESCRIBE: 1. FIRE ACTIVITY OVER DIFFERENT SPATIAL REGIONS AND TEMPORAL PERIODS 1.1 TOTAL AREA BURNT AND NUMBER OF ACTIVE FIRE DETECTIONS METRICS: - TOTAL AREA BURNED (HA AND KM2) WITH UNCERTAINTY ESTIMATES - TOTAL NUMBER OF ACTIVE FIRE DETECTIONS (COUNTS) - TEMPORAL RANKING OF THE ABOVE AND THE YEAR/MONTH THAT THE RANKED VALUES OCCURRED ON - COUNTS OF THE NUMBER OF MONTHS / YEARS WHERE THERE WAS FIRE 1.2 FIRE SEASONALITY METRICS - START AND END OF THE FIRE SEASON PEAK MONTH OF BURNING - TEMPORAL RANKING OF THE ABOVE AND THE YEAR / MONTH THAT THE RANKED VALUES OCCURRED ON 1.3 FIRE SIZE METRICS - MEAN MEDIAN AND MAXIMUM FIRE SIZE - NUMBER AND MINIMUM FIRE SIZE OF THE FIRES RESPONSIBLE FOR 25% 50% 75% OF THE TOTAL ANNUAL BURNED AREA. 2. ON-DEMAND TABLES CHARTS AND PLOTS OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION. 3. VISUALIZATIONS OF THE MODIS FIRE PRODUCTS FOR THE GWIS INTERACTIVE MAP VIEWER GENERALIZED APPROPRIATELY AT DIFFERENT SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SCALES. AS A RESULT OF THE PROPOSED ACTIVITIES GWIS WILL BECOME THE ONLY PORTAL THAT PROVIDES GLOBAL TO SUB-NATIONAL SUMMARY SCIENCE-QUALITY INFORMATION ON FIRE SEASONALITY FIRE SIZE AND ANNUAL RANKINGS OF FIRE ACTIVITY IN EASILY ACCESSIBLE FORMATS FOR NATIONAL POLICY MAKERS AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS. THERE WILL BE THREE MAIN DELIVERABLES PROVIDED TO THE GWIS TECHNICAL STAFF: (1) THE INFORMATION RESULTS DERIVED BY RUNNING THE ABOVE DEVELOPED SOFTWARE AT THE PI S INSTITUTION ON 15+ YEARS OF GLOBAL MODIS COLLECTION 6 FIRE PRODUCTS (2) THE SOFTWARE DELIVERED IN STAGES TO THE GWIS STAFF TO ENSURE PROPER INTEGRATION INTO THE GWIS AND TO ENSURE CONTINUATION AFTER THE PROPOSED NASA FUNDING ENDS (3) DOCUMENTATION FOR NON-TECHNICAL AND TECHNICAL USERS. IN ADDITION IN YEAR THREE WE WILL PATHFIND HOW TO INTEGRATE THE NASA VIIRS ACTIVE FIRE AND BURNED AREA PRODUCTS (THAT ARE STILL NOT MATURE) INTO THE GWIS. WE WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH THE GOFC FIRE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM AND OTHER GWIS PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT THE OUTCOMES RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF THE GWIS USER COMMUNITY., G8233857841
OpenAlex ID: W3005406058