Dataset
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
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Historical Fire Extent and Severity Mapping (FESM)

Fire severity is a metric of the loss of biomass caused by fire. In collaboration with the NSW Rural Fire Service, DCCEEW Remote Sensing & Regulatory Mapping team has developed a semi-automated approach to mapping fire extent and severity through a machine learning framework based on satellite imagery.

The method uses standardised classes to allow comparison of different fires across the landscape. The FESM severity classes include: unburnt, low severity (burnt understory, unburnt canopy), moderate severity (partial canopy scorch), high severity (complete canopy scorch, partial canopy consumption), extreme (full canopy consumption).

Here we provide historical severity mapping for 8 priority regions on National Parks land tenure from 1989/90 to 2015/16, which is based on Landsat satellite imagery. This covers approximately 30% of the NPWS Managed Lands, across a wide range of vegetation types. From 2016/17 to the current fire year, these regions are covered in the statewide FESM data, which is based on Sentinel 2 satellite imagery. Ongoing FESM processing aims to achieve statewide coverage back to 1989/90, in staged released, as resources permit.

Data and Resources

Metadata Summary What is metadata?

Field Value
Language English
Alternative Title FESM - Northern Forests
Edition FESMv3
Purpose fire management planning and reporting, landscape and fire ecology research
Frequency of change Not planned
Keywords HAZARDS-Fire,ECOLOGY-Landscape,ECOLOGY-Habitat,VEGETATION
Field of Research (optional) Landscape Ecology,fire,Forestry Fire Management
Metadata Date 2023-11-24
Date of Asset Creation 2023-11-24
License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Geospatial Topic Environment
NSW Place Name Macquarie Marshes Region
Extent

Dataset extent
Temporal Coverage From 1989-07-01 - 2016-03-06
Datum WSG84 / UTM Zone 55S
Legal Disclaimer Read
Attribution NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water asserts the right to be attributed as author of the original material in the following manner: "© State Government of NSW and NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water 2024"
Groups Natural Hazards Science