DROUGHT AND FINE FUEL MOISTURE CODE EVALUATION: AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR FOREST/LAND FIRE USING REMOTE SENSING APPROACH

Abstract

This study evaluated two parameters of fire danger rating system (FDRS) using remote sensing data i.e. drought code (DC) and fine fuel moisture code (FFMC) as an early warning program for forest/land fire in Indonesia. Using the reference DC and FFMC from observation data, we calculated the accuracy, bias, and error. The results showed that FFMC from satellite data had a fairly good correlation with FFMC observations (r=0.68, bias=7.6, and RMSE=15.7), while DC from satellite data had a better correlation with FFMC observations (r=0.88, bias=49.91, and RMSE=80.22). Both FFMC and DC from satellite and observation were comparable. Nevertheless, FFMC and DC satellite data showed an overestimation values than that observation data, particularly during dry season. This study also indicated that DC and FFMC could describe fire occurrence within a period of 3 months before fire occur, particularly for DC. These results demonstrated that remote sensing data can be used for monitoring and early warning fire in Indonesia.