Time series analysis of vegetation dynamics and burn scar mapping at Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range, Kansas using moderate resolution satellite imagery

Abstract

Military installations are important assets for the proper training of armed forces. To ensure the continued viability of training lands, management practices need to be implemented to sustain the necessary environmental conditions for safe and effective training. For this study two analyses were done, a contemporary burn history and a time series analysis. The study area is Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range (ANGR), an Impact Area (within the range) and a non-military Comparison Site. Landsat 5 TM / 7 ETM+ imagery was used to create an 11 year composite burn history image. NDVI values were derived from MODIS imagery for the time series analysis using the statistical package BFAST. Results from both studies were combined to make conclusions about training impacts at Smoky Hill ANGR and determine if BFAST is a viable environmental management tool. Based on this study the training within Smoky Hill ANGR does not seem to be having a negative effect on the overall vegetation condition. It was also discovered that BFAST was able to accurately detect known vegetation disturbances. BFAST is a viable environmental management tool if the limitations are understood.