Circumpolar Boreal Forest Burnt Area Maps 2001-2011

Eleven annual TIFF files map daily burnt area dates at 500-meter resolution across the circumpolar boreal forest from 2001 to 2011. The dataset, produced by the CEH Wallingford Earth Observation group, supports analysis of fire patterns, drivers, and carbon flux consequences. Validation using ETM imagery yielded a Kappa coefficient of 0.54.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatio-temporal patterns of fire extent and intensity using annual burnt area maps for the whole boreal zone.
• Model carbon flux consequences by correlating daily date of burn data with other environmental datasets.
• Validate or compare fire detection algorithms using the 500m resolution product derived from MODIS N-BAR and thermal anomaly data.
• Study driving factors behind fire variations across Siberia and Alaska using the 11-year time series.

Strengths

• Provides an 11-year continuous time series from 2001 to 2011 for longitudinal analysis.
• 500-meter spatial resolution offers detailed mapping of fire scars across the vast boreal region.
• Product was validated with a reported Kappa coefficient of 0.54 using ETM image assemblages.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, ending in 2011 and lacking recent fire events.
• Validation Kappa coefficient of 0.54 indicates moderate agreement, suggesting some label noise or omission/commission errors.
• Geographic scope is limited to the circumpolar boreal forest zone, excluding other major fire-prone biomes.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Burnt areas identified by thresholding a differencing method on MODIS N-BAR (MCD43A4) data, with dates assigned using MODIS thermal anomalies (MOD14A1).

Time Range

2001 to 2011

Freshness

null

Geography

Circumpolar boreal forest zone (includes Siberia, Alaska)