Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441 – 450

www.elsevier.com/locate/rse

Estimation of leaf water status to monitor the risk of forest fires

by using remotely sensed data
M. Maki a,*, M. Ishiahra b, M. Tamura c
a
Graduate School of Business Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Otsuka 3-29-1, Bunkyo, Tokyo 112-0012, Japan
b
Graduate School of System and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573, Japan
c
National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa 16-2, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan

Received 17 September 2003; received in revised form 29 January 2004; accepted 15 February 2004

Abstract

Estimating the water status of vegetation is one of the most important elements in assessing forest fire danger. In this paper, laboratory
measurement confirmed a relationship between leaf water status and the normalized difference water index (NDWI), derived from near-
infrared and shortwave-infrared spectral data. Two results were confirmed: (a) NDWI is related to equivalent water thickness, and, (b) in
addition to NDWI, the quantity of leaf material must be known in order to estimate vegetation dryness. Based on these findings, the authors
developed a vegetation dryness index (VDI) to estimate global vegetation water content. VDI values, calculated by using SPOT/
VEGETATION data, were applied to data from a 1998 forest fire in the Russian Far East. This led to two results: (a) VDI was useful for
detecting areas with a high potential for ignition, and (b) VDI may have been able to detect the fire-spread direction.
D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Equivalent water thickness; Fuel moisture content; Normalized difference water index; Forest fire

1. Introduction where FW is the fresh weight of vegetation measured in

the field and DW is the weight of the same sample of
In recent years, many forest fires have broken out in vegetation after it has been oven-dried.
various regions of the world (Rowell & Moore, 2000). To (ii) Equivalent water thickness (EWT) (Danson et al.,
better predict fire ignition and fire propagation, it is necessary 1992) is defined as the ratio between the quantity of
to detect high danger areas. Although almost all causes of water and the area:
ignition are related to human activity, the scale of a fire
FW  DW
depends on factors such as the vegetation water status, EWT ¼ ðg=cm2 Þ ð2Þ
topography, and wind direction. Vegetation water status, in A
particular, is an important factor in detecting forest fire where A is the leaf area.
behavior (Agee et al., 2002). Therefore, vegetation water (iii) Relative water content (RWC) (Inoue et al., 1993) is
status must be monitored in order to assess fire danger defined as the ratio between the quantity of water at the
(ignition and propagation). At ground level, vegetation water time of measurement and the quantity of water at full
status is calculated mainly according to three definitions. turgor:

(i) Fuel moisture content (FMC) is defined as the ratio FW  DW

RWC ¼ ð3Þ
between the quantity of water in vegetation and either TW  DW
the fresh or dry weight of vegetation:
where TW is the turgid weight.
FW  DW
FMC ¼  100 ð%Þ ð1Þ When monitoring the danger of fire ignition and fire
FWðor DWÞ
propagation, it is thought effective to evaluate the quantity
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +81-3-3942-6574; fax: +81-3-3942-
of water per either the fresh weight or dry weight of
6829. vegetation (Agee et al., 2002). Therefore, the authors
E-mail address: maki@gssm.otsuka.tsukuba.ac.jp (M. Maki). considered that FMC was the best indicator for detecting

0034-4257/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.rse.2004.02.002
442 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450
the vegetation water status necessary for estimation of fire
danger. When FMC assessment is applied to prediction of
forest fire, however, it requires frequent monitoring of water
deficits over a large area.
To accomplish this, satellite remotely sensed data are
used to estimate vegetation dryness. Several studies based
on the relationship between vegetation water status and
spectral reflectances have been conducted, and the results
have been compared against direct measurement (Aldakheel
& Danson, 1997; Carter, 1991; Ceccato et al., 2001; Danson
et al., 1992; Inoue et al., 1993). These studies clarified that
water affected the shortwave-infrared (SWIR) domain; in
other words, the domain is sensitive to absorption by water.
The most recent of these studies also indicated that vegeta-
tion structure and volume affected the information obtained
from the SWIR domain. That study also suggested that
dividing the reflection in that domain by the one in the near-
infrared (NIR) domain is effective for removing the influ-
ence of vegetation structure and volume (Ceccato et al.,
2001). Several indices calculated from spectral reflectance
have been proposed for estimating vegetation water status.
The following two indices are used mainly for calculating
that status:
(i) The normalized difference water index (NDWI) (Gao,
1996) is a variation of the NDVI, and uses the short-
wave-infrared domain rather than the red domain:
qNIR  qSWIR
NDWI ¼ ð4Þ
qNIR þ qSWIR
where qNIR and qSWIR are the reflectances of NIR and
SWIR domains, respectively. This index, called NDWI,
was later termed normalized difference infrared index
(NDII) (Hunt & Rock, 1989).
(ii) Leaf water content index (LWCI) (Hunt et al., 1987) is
based on the difference between NIR and SWIR reflec-
tances for a specific sample with respect to another
sample at full turgor:
logð1  ðqNIR  qSWIR ÞÞ
LWCI ¼ ð5Þ
logð1  ðqNIR;FT  qSWIR;FT ÞÞ
where qNIR,FT and qSWIR,FT are the reflectances of NIR
and SWIR domains at full turgor, respectively. LWCI is
nondimensional and the values of this index change
between 0 and 1.
These indices, based on the reflectances of NIR and
SWIR domains, were developed by investigation at the
leaf level. Regarding NDWI, Zarco-Tejada et al. (2003)
conducted an investigation at the forest canopy level by
using the radiative transfer model. To calculate LWCI,
the water content at full turgor must be known. Further-
more, at the canopy level, it is thought that the status of
the vegetation structure and the volume are different at
the time of measurement than they are at full turgor.
Because information about the vegetation structure and
volume is included in the subtraction of NIR and SWIR
domain reflectance, it is difficult to use LWCI to extract
information related only to water status at the canopy
level. To calculate NDWI, on the other hand, only the
information taken at the time of measurement is needed.
Furthermore, NDWI, because it takes into consideration
the influence of factors such as canopy structure and
viewing geometry, has high potential for estimating
vegetation water status (Zarco-Tejada et al., 2003). For
these reasons, we considered that NDWI was more useful
than LWCI for estimating vegetation water status at the
time of measurement. With this in mind, in this study, we
used only NDWI to estimate the vegetation water status
by spectral observation.
Our laboratory measurement confirmed relationships
between NDWI and FMC, and between NDWI and EWT.
A relationship between NDWI and RWC was not consid-
ered because of the difficulty of obtaining water content
information at full turgor; this information would be re-
quired for calculating RWC. Based on our results, we then
developed a new index for estimating the vegetation water
status needed to assess fire ignition and fire propagation.
Finally, we applied the new index to a 1998 forest fire in the
Russian Far East in order to evaluate the validity of this
index.
2. Methodology
2.1. Laboratory measurement
In a recent study, Chuvieco et al. (2002) found that NDII
(the same as NDWI) derived from Landsat/TM data was
strongly related to FMC in Mediterranean grasslands and
shrublands. On the other hand, by using the data of the
LOPEX93 experiment, Ceccato et al. (2001) determined that
the simple ratio (SWIR reflectance/NIR reflectance) was
strongly related to EWT and not to FMC. Based on these
results, the latter authors developed the global vegetation
moisture index (GVMI), a formula similar to that of NDWI,
to retrieve EWT by a theoretical approach (Ceccato et al.,
2002b), and applied it to shrub steppes, shrub savannahs,
tree savannahs, and savannah woodlands in Senegal (Cec-
cato et al., 2002a). The results of Chuvieco et al. (2002)
were based on the direct relationship between field sampling
and satellite data (canopy level), and applied only to
grassland and shrubland. Those of Ceccato et al. (2001,
2002a,b) were based on laboratory measurement (leaf level).
It is well known that the reflectances at leaf level differ from
those at canopy level. For these reasons, in order to develop
a new index for estimating vegetation water status at the
forest canopy level, we found it necessary to confirm which
water status index (FMC or EWT) has a stronger relation to
NDWI at the leaf level. Therefore, laboratory measurement
was performed.
 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450
Nerium oleander var. indicum, Liriodendron tulipifera,
and Betula platyphylla var. japonica were chosen for the
laboratory measurement. These species differ in their
abilities to withstand dryness. The study area is mainly
dominated by conifers such as Larix leptolepis. After
deforestation (forest fire or logging), B. platyphylla var.
japonica dominates the deforested area. Although all these
species, except B. platyphylla var. japonica, differ from
those in the Russian Far East, it is thought that the optical
domains related to vegetation conditions (e.g., chlorophyll
related to red domain, quantity of biomass related to near-
infrared domain, and quantity of water related to short-
wave-infrared domain) are common regardless of vegeta-
tion type. Namely, it is thought that spectral characteristics
(not intensity of reflectance but features) of these species
are comparable to those in the Russian Far East. Therefore,
we applied the results of laboratory measurement to the
forest in the Russian Far East. Fresh leaf weight (FW) and
leaf area (A) were determined at measurement time. Dry
leaf weight (DW) was determined after drying the leaf in
an oven at 80 jC for 24 h. After determining these values,
FMC and EWT were calculated for each leaf. The leaf
hemispherical reflectance over a 400- to 2400-nm range, at
1-nm intervals, was then measured immediately by using
Field Spec Pro FR. Measurements were carried a total of
five times between June 6 and June 19, 2002. Consequent-
ly, 120 leaves (40 leaves for each species) were used for
the laboratory measurement.
2.2. Satellite observation
S10 products of SPOT/VEGETATION data were used to
detect vegetation water deficits. S10 products provide sur-
face reflectance in four channels [430 –470 nm (blue), 610 –
680 nm (red), 780– 890 nm (near-infrared), and 1580 –1750
nm (shortwave-infrared)], which were nominally corrected
for atmospheric effects by using the simplified method of
atmospheric correction (SMAC) (Rahman & Dedieu, 1994).
We used these data for the following reasons: (a) NDWI
could be derived from this satellite data; (b) this satellite
made large-area and high-frequency monitoring possible;
and (c) given that the influence of clouds is reduced in
theory, these data had high potential for expressing the
canopy reflectance.
In this study, we selected satellite images of forest fires in
the Russian Far East obtained in 1998, particularly from
July 11 to 20, a relatively intense period for these fires.
Burning area data for this period were derived from NOAA/
AVHRR by using a modified contextual algorithm (Maki &
Tamura, 2002; Nakayama et al., 1999). These data were
used in evaluating the validity of the vegetation water deficit
map derived from the SPOT/VEGETATION data. Satellite
data used in this study were as follows:
– SPOT/VEGETATION data obtained from June 11, 1998
to July 10, 1998, and from June 11, 1999 to July 10, 1999.
443
– NOAA/AVHRR data obtained from July 11, 1998 to July
15, 1998, and from July 18, 1998.
In this region, July 16, 17, 19, and 20 were cloudy, so
NOAA/AVHRR data from those days were not used.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Measurement of vegetation water deficit at leaf level
Table 1 represents the ranges of FMC and EWT values
measured from June 6 to June 19, 2002. We used the dry
vegetation weight to calculate FMC, and confirmed the
relationships between NDWI and FMC and between NDWI
and EWT at leaf level. These results are represented in Figs.
1 and 2, respectively. It was observed that NDWI had a
relationship to FMC against only L. tulipifera, and no
relationship to FMC against the case including all species
(Fig. 1). Because the dry vegetation weights of L. tulipifera
used to calculate FMC were generally the same value, FMC
values of this species were determined solely by the quantity
of water. Therefore, it was considered that the abovemen-
tioned result was accurately obtained. On the other hand,
NDWI had a strong relationship to EWT against all respec-
tive species and the case including all species (Fig. 2). This
means that NDWI is strongly related to the quantity of water
per unit area but is not related to the quantity of water per
unit of dry vegetation weight. This result was the same as
that obtained using the theory of electromagnetic character-
istics of absorption by water in the SWIR domain. Based on
the data, we were able to confirm the result obtained using
the theory. Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate this. Fig. 3 shows a case in
which the spectral reflectance of B. platyphylla var. japonica
has the same FMC value corresponding to two different
EWT values. In this case, given that the two FMC values
were the same, the sample with the higher EWT had larger
quantities of water and biomass than the low-EWT sample.
Fig. 4 illustrates another case in which the spectral reflec-
tance of B. platyphylla var. japonica has the same EWT
value corresponding to two different FMC values. In this
case, given that the two EWT values were the same, the
sample with the higher FMC had the same quantity of water
and a smaller quantity of biomass than did the low-FMC
sample. These figures demonstrate that variations in reflec-
tance in the SWIR domain are determined not by the
quantity of water per unit dry weight (FMC) but by the
Table 1
The range of FMC and EWT values measured in the laboratory from June
6, 2002 to June 19, 2002
Species EWT (g cm2) FMC (%)
Nerium oleander var. indicum 0.016 – 0.138 107.69 – 213.56
Butula platyphylla var. japonica 0.004 – 0.054 84.62 – 236.36
Liriodendron tulipifera 0.002 – 0.066 33.33 – 285.71
444 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450
Fig. 1. Relationship between normalized difference water index (NDWI) and fuel moisture content (FMC). R represents correlation coefficient. All correlations
are significant at the 1% level.
quantity of water per unit of area (EWT). However, when
EWT values were the same, there were still small variations
in SWIR reflectance values. Ceccato et al. (2001) obtained a
similar result and, by using the radiative transfer model
PROSPECT (Jacquemoud & Baret, 1990), detected the
factors that affect SWIR reflectance values. Consequently,
Ceccato et al. (2001) developed a simple ratio [(SWIR
reflectance/NIR reflectance) to retrieve EWT at leaf level.
Further, based on this ratio, the GVMI [(NIR reflectan-
ce + 0.1)  (SWIR reflectance + 0.02)/(NIR reflectan-
ce + 0.1)+(SWIR reflectance + 0.02)] was developed to
retrieve EWT at canopy level (for satellite observation)
(Ceccato et al., 2002b). The constants 0.1 and 0.02 in
GVMI were determined by the results from a model
simulation for canopy level. Based on the concept that
NDWI is fundamentally the same as that of GVMI, NDWI
is more suitable for retrieving EWT than for retrieving
FMC. Therefore, it is considered difficult to use NDWI
alone to retrieve FMC and determine the vegetation water
deficit.
3.2. Development of a new index for estimating vegetation
water deficit at canopy level
At leaf level, if we assume that there is no change over
time in all factors except the quantity of water, vegetation
dryness can be easily estimated by calculating the ratio of
NDWI at measurement time to NDWI at maximal water
content. On the other hand, at canopy level, because NDWI
retrieves not EWT per unit leaf area but EWT per unit area
(one pixel), it is difficult to assume that the factors, again
with the exception of the quantity of water, do not change
over time, especially because the quantity of total leaf per
unit area (one pixel) is associated with intraannual variation
or cycles (phenology). Therefore, it is difficult to estimate
vegetation dryness per unit area from the ratio of NDWI at
measurement time to NDWI at maximal water content. It is
considered that, in addition to NDWI (quantity of water per
unit area), the total leaf quantity per unit area must be
known in order to estimate vegetation dryness. Previous
studies have investigated the relationship between total leaf
 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450 445

Fig. 2. Relationship between normalized difference water index (NDWI) and equivalent water thickness (EWT). R represents Pearson correlation coefficient.
All correlations are significant at the 1% level.

area (or LAI) and remotely sensed data (Asrar et al., 1984; In this study, NDVI was used to estimate the total leaf
Myneni et al., 1997; Selleres, 1985), and several reported quantity. Fig. 5 shows the relationship between NDVI and
findings suggesting that LAI was strongly related to NDVI. NDWI in the study area derived from SPOT/VEGETA-

Fig. 3. Leaf reflectance spectra measured in the laboratory. This represents Fig. 4. Leaf reflectance spectra measured in the laboratory. This represents
B. platyphylla var. japonica samples for which the same FMC value B. platyphylla var. japonica samples for which the same EWT value
corresponds to two different EWT values. corresponds to two different FMC values.
446 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450

Fig. 6. The theoretical trapezoidal shape showing the different biomass

versus water stress conditions of the canopy – soil continuum. The WDI of
Fig. 5. NDVI versus NDWI scattergram obtained from SPOT/VEGETA- point C is given by 1  BC/AB, as shown in Eq. (6).
TION data from June 11 to July 10, 1998, and from June 11 to July 10,
1999.
included in Fig. 7, it is expected that the shape of the figure
changes. Namely, when data on the time period during
TION data. This relationship indicates that maximal and
which there was high soil water content and the canopy was
minimal water contents are associated with total leaf per
open are included, it is expected that maximal water content
unit area. Namely, when the water contents for each leaf are
on low NDVI value is higher than that on higher NDVI
the same, NDWI values per unit area (one pixel) vary with
value. Therefore, in the area with low NDVI value, it is
total leaf area per unit area. This feature is similar to the
considered to be difficult to evaluate the quantity of water at
water deficit index (WDI) (Moran et al., 1994). Fig. 6
the canopy level. From these results, in order to calculate
shows the theoretical trapezoidal shape of WDI. Vertex n
minimal and maximal water content lines, care must be
(n = 1, 2, 3, 4) represents well-watered vegetation, water-
taken regarding the season of the data to be used. In the
stressed vegetation, saturated bare soil, and dry bare soil,
study, minimal and maximal water content lines were
respectively. WDI is calculated by the following function:
calculated using only the data of summer, and NDVI values
of more than 0.3 in Fig. 5 were defined as vegetated areas.
LE ðTs  Ta Þ  ðTs  Ta Þdry This value was determined by using a land-cover map
WDI ¼ 1  ¼1 derived from Landsat/TM imagery. It is well known that
LEp ðTs  Ta Þwet  ðTs  Ta Þdry
the reflectances at leaf level differ from those at canopy
BC level. Ceccato et al., (2002a,b) indicated that reflectances of
¼1 ð6Þ
AB NIR and SWIR domains at canopy level were primarily
influenced by leaf reflectance. Zarco-Tejada et al. (2003)
where LE is actual evapotranspiration and LEp is potential
evapotranspiration. (Ts  Ta) is surface (soil and canopy)
temperature minus air temperature at measuring time, and
the wet and dry indices correspond to the left and right
limits of the trapezoid (Fig. 6). AB and BC are the distances
in Fig. 6. Fractional vegetation cover is in relation to LAI.
To estimate fractional vegetation cover, Moran et al. (1994)
used SAVI, and Vidal and Devaux-Ros (1995) used NDVI.
The ratio between LE and LEp corresponds to water deficit
per fractional vegetation cover. Fig. 7 shows the hypothet-
ical trapezoidal shape of Fig. 5. Vertex n (n = A, B, C, D) in
Fig. 7 is rich vegetation and poor water, poor vegetation and
poor water, poor vegetation and rich water, and rich
vegetation and rich vegetation, respectively. Because igni-
tion is related only to a vegetated area, the vertices cor-
Fig. 7. The hypothetical trapezoidal shape that would result from the
responding to bare soil in Fig. 6 are not included in Fig. 7. relation between NDVI (total leaf area per unit area) and NDWI (water
Because NDWI fundamentally shows the quantity of water content per unit area on vegetated condition). Vegetation dryness index
per unit area, when the data on ground surface exposure are (VDI) of point E is given by 1  AVE/AVCV, as shown in Eq. (7).
 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450
indicated that the ratio between the reflectances of NIR and
SWIR domains could be used to estimate the quantity of
water at the canopy level with the same LAI value. Given
that the index developed in this study estimated water status
per fractional vegetation cover by using NDWI, it was
considered that the influences accompanying extended
application to the canopy level from the leaf level (e.g.,
canopy structural characteristics and viewing geometry)
were generally ignored. WDI is the index that indirectly
estimates water status per fractional vegetation cover by
measuring canopy temperature rise based on water stress. In
contrast, the index developed in this study directly estimates
water status per fractional vegetation cover by using NDWI.
Although Ts  Ta (the x-axis in Fig. 6) and NDWI (the x-
axis in Fig. 7) are qualitatively unrelated, WDI and the
index developed in this study both propose to estimate
water status per fractional vegetation cover. In this study,
the vegetation dryness index (VDI) is suggested for esti-
mating vegetation water deficits. VDI is calculated by the
following function:
AVE
VDI ¼ 1 
AVCV
where AVE and AVCV are the distances in Fig. 7. The VDI
of the study area was calculated by using SPOT/VEGETA-
TION data. In this study, it was considered difficult to
estimate minimal and maximal water content lines (AB and
CD in Fig. 7) from 1998 data because it was a compara-
tively dry year; 2 years’ data (1998 and 1999) were used to
estimate the minimal and maximal water content lines in the
study area.
Fig. 8 shows the VDI map for the beginning of July 1998.
Fig. 9 shows the accumulated burning area from July 11 to
Fig. 8. Vegetation dryness index (VDI) map for the beginning of July 1998
obtained from SPOT/VEGETATION data from June 11 to July 10, 1998
and from June 11 to July 10, 1999.
447
20 in the study area. Daily burning areas were directly
derived from NOAA/AVHRR data (excluding the data from
the cloudy days: July 16, 17, 19, and 20) by using a modified
contextual algorithm (Maki & Tamura, 2002; Nakayama et
al., 1999). From Figs. 8 and 9, it was confirmed that ignited
pixels had comparatively higher VDI values before ignition.
Consequently, ignited pixels on July 13 and 14 (the first
ignited points in the final burnt area) had VDI values
exceeding 0.45. Although the VDI value in the study area
changes with data used to calculate the minimal and maximal
water content lines, it is considered that the VDI values of
ignited pixels become higher than those of nonignited pixels.
The main cause of the fire in the Russian Far East was human
activity (Yamane, 1999). Furthermore, this investigation was
applied to the limited area. Therefore, in this study, the
relationship between the 0.45 VDI value and the ignited
pixels, and the possibility of application of this method on a
global scale, were not clarified. Nevertheless, this result
indicated the possibility of estimating the relative danger
of fire ignition. From this result, it seems probable that VDI
can serve as a good predictor of fire ignition.
Vegetation dryness is also an important factor in predict-
ð7Þ
ing fire propagation (Agee et al., 2002). Fig. 10 shows the
VDI values for potential fire-spread areas in each region
(see the map on July 18, 1998 in Fig. 9). Potential fire-
spread areas are the pixels adjacent to the burning pixels.
The VDI values of actual fire-spread pixels were higher than
those of the no-fire-spread pixels in regions 1 and 2. No
significant difference between actual fire-spread pixels and
no-fire-spread pixels was found in region 3. By using
LANDSAT/TM imagery, it was confirmed that vegetation
type in regions 1 and 2 was the same and the forest in region
3 had been previously logged. It was reported that the
logged areas in the Russian Far East were clear-cut and
only the valuable wood had been hauled away; consequent-
ly, large amounts of wood were left in the logged area, and
posed a high risk for combustion and expansion of fire
(Yamane, 1999). Therefore, it is highly possible that region
3 might contain large amounts of fuel on the forest floor.
Other factors (wind direction, topography, etc.) have also
been found to be strongly related to fire propagation (Berjak
& Hearne, 2002; Hargrove et al., 2000; Karafyllidis &
Thanailakis, 1997). Based on the above results, it was
considered that region 3 was wholly in the state of being
easy to burn, and fire-spread directions were determined by
other factors (wind direction, topography, etc.). Fig. 11
represents the relationship between fire-spread magnitude
and VDI. Pixels per fire front length are calculated by the
following function:
FPtþ1
PFFL ¼ ð8Þ
FFLt
where PFFL is the number of pixels per fire front length,
FFLt is the fire front length observed at measurement time t,
and FPt + 1 is the total number of burnt pixels around the fire
448 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450

Fig. 9. Map of the burning area related to vegetation dryness index (VDI). Burning areas were not detected on July 11 and 12. The data obtained on July 16 – 17
and 19 – 20 were not used in this study because those days were cloudy. Daily burning areas were directly derived from NOAA/AVHRR data by using modified
contextual algorithm (Maki & Tamura, 2002; Nakayama et al., 1999). Regions 1, 2, and 3 of the map on July 18, 1998 are related to Fig. 10.

front as observed at measurement time t + 1. All actual fire- ered that, although fire behavior is determined by several
spread pixels were used for this figure. This figure indicates factors (vegetation water content, topography, wind direc-
that the fire-spread magnitude is strongly related to vegeta- tion, etc.), the VDI map is useful for predicting fire
tion water content. Based on Figs. 10 and 11, it is consid- propagation.

Fig. 11. Relationship between fire-spread magnitude and vegetation dryness

Fig. 10. Values of vegetation dryness index (VDI) on potential fire-spread index (VDI). R represents correlation coefficient. Correlation is significant
areas for each region. at 1% level. Pixels per fire front length are calculated by Eq. (8).
 M. Maki et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 90 (2004) 441–450
4. Conclusions
Using laboratory measurement, this paper confirmed the
relationships between NDWI and FMC and between NDWI
and EWT. This measurement produced the following con-
clusions: (1) NDWI is suitable for estimating not the
quantity of water per dry vegetation weight but, rather, the
quantity of water per unit area; and (2) in addition to NDWI,
information on total leaf area per unit area is necessary in
order to estimate vegetation water content. Based on these
results, the VDI was developed to estimate vegetation water
deficits at the canopy level.
Vegetation dryness of the study area was estimated by
calculating VDI with the use of S10 products provided by
the SPOT/VEGETATION system. In addition, burning areas
obtained from NOAA/AVHRR were used to confirm the
relationships between VDI and ignited pixels and between
VDI and fire behavior. Three results were obtained: (1) the
VDI values of all ignited pixels in the study area exceeded
0.45; (2) the VDI values of the actual fire-spread pixels were
higher than those of the no-fire-spread pixels (these pixels
were, however, potential fire-spread pixels); and (3) the fire-
spread magnitude was strongly related to VDI.
The value of VDI in a study area changes with the data
used to calculate minimal and maximal water content lines.
The main cause of the fire in the Russian Far East was
human activity (Yamane, 1999). Further, because it was
necessary to conduct this study in a region that could be
observed daily for ignition in order to estimate the validity
of VDI, the applicable area was restricted. Therefore, in this
study, the relationship between the 0.45 VDI value and the
ignited pixels, and the possibility of application of this index
on a global scale were not clarified. Moreover, influences of
the factors such as wind direction and topography for fire
propagation were not clarified. Nevertheless, this study
showed that it was possible to estimate the relative danger
of fire ignition and fire propagation on a regional scale
(vegetation type and phenology are the same) by using the
VDI value.
In this study, the validity of VDI was confirmed by using
S10 products. Because the influence of clouds was reduced,
S10 products were effective in determining minimal and
maximal NDWI (quantity of water per unit area) per NDVI
(total leaf area per unit area). However, it is thought that
these products are unsuitable for observation of daily
vegetation dryness because they are 10 days composite
data. When high-frequency observation is required for
detecting a potential fire ignition area, it is thought that
daily reflectance data are more effective than 10 days of
composite data. Because the VDI proposed by this study
was calculated using reflectances of near-infrared and short-
wave-infrared domains, it is considered potentially applica-
ble not only to SPOT/VEGETATION but to a satellite
sensor such as TERRA/MODIS, which can observe the
reflectances of those wavelength domains. In a recent study,
it was suggested that the 1150- to 1260-nm region would be
449
best for satellite remote sensing of vegetation water content
(Sims & Gamon, 2003). For MODIS, the relevant band is
1230 – 1250 nm. Further, Chuvieco et al. (2003) proposed
the synthetic fuel moisture content index (SFMC) based on
NDVI and surface temperature for retrieving FMC using
NOAA/AVHRR. When observation using several satellites
is possible, it is thought that daily observation with little
influence of clouds is possible.
In future study, (i) consideration of the period and
regional scale required to calculate VDI; (ii) calculation of
VDI using MODIS data and unification of a VDI value in
consideration of the difference in the observation wave-
length of TERRA/MODIS and SPOT/VEGETATION; (iii)
investigation of the relevance of VDI and SFMC; and (iv)
investigation that combines VDI and other factors such as
human activity should be undertaken to achieve high-
precision detection of high potential fire ignition areas and
fire behavior by using daily surface reflectance data.
Acknowledgements
All SPOT/VEGETATION images used in this study are
the copyright of Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
and are distributed by SpotImage and produced by Vlaamse
Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoeck (VITO). The
authors thank these organizations.
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