Classification and clustering analysis of standing dead trees and associated park asset wildfire vulnerability in Yellowstone National Park  

作　　者：Carolyn Prescott Mehmet Ozdes Di Yang 

机构地区：[1]School of Computing,Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center,University of Wyoming,Laramie,WY 82071,USA [2]Environmental Engineering,Faculty of Engineering,Tekirdag Namik Kemal University,Tekirdag 59030,Turkey [3]Civil and Environmental Engineering,Clarkson University,Potsdam,NY 13699,USA [4]Department of Geography,University of Florida,Gainesville,FL 32611,USA

出　　处：《Forest Ecosystems》2025年第2期275-286,共12页森林生态系统(英文版)

基　　金：Wyoming NASA EPSCoR Faculty Research Grant(Grant#80NSSC19M0061);Yellowstone National Park Services for their generous support and funding that made this research possible.

摘　　要：In the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States,forests include extensive portions of standing dead trees.These regions showcase an intriguing phenomenon where the combined biomass of standing dead trees surpasses that of fallen and decomposing woody debris.This stems from a suite of factors including pest disturbances,management decisions,and a changing climate.With increasingly dry and hot conditions,dead timber on a landscape increases the probability that a fire will occur.Identifying and characterizing the presence of standing dead trees on a landscape helps with forest management efforts including reductions in the wildfire hazard presented by the trees,and vulnerability of nearby park assets should the trees burn.Using forest-based classification,exploratory data analysis,and cluster vulnerability analysis,this study characterized the occurrence and implications of standing dead trees within Yellowstone National Park.The findings show standing dead trees across the entire study area with varying densities.These clusters were cross-referenced with vulnerability parameters of distance to roads,distance to trails,distance to water,distance to buildings,and slope.These parameters inform fire ignition,propagation,and impact.The weighted sum of these parameters was used to determine the vulnerability incurred on the park assets by the clusters and showed the highest values nearest to park entrances and points of interest.High vulnerability clusters warrant priority management to reduce wildfire impact.The framework of this study can be applied to other sites and incorporate additional vulnerability variables to assess forest fuel and impact.This can provide a reference for management to prioritize areas for resource conservation and improve fire prevention and suppression efficiency.

关 键 词：Forest health Fire risk Rocky mountain and pacific northwest forests Park management Spatial autocorrelation Random Forest 

分 类 号：S762[农业科学—森林保护学]