Investigating the impacts of Fire on Land Cover

In this exercise, we will look at estimating the extent of a fire in California in 2021, and cross-reference that with data on land cover to understand the impact of this event.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Watch the video solution here:
• Step 1: Import the area
• Step 2: Select the Fire data
• Step 3: Filter to get the right fire data
• Step 4: Visualise the fire data
• Step 5: Select the Land Cover data
• Step 6: Filter to get the right land cover data
• Step 7: Visualise the land cover data
• Step 8: Save the land cover data for re-use
• Step 9: Create your statistical outputs
• Step 10: Run your workflow

Watch the video solution here:

Step 1: Import the area

• Attached to this article is a file called Dixie-Fire.geojson. Download it.
• This is a file that describes a rectangular area in California, United States.
• Click the + icon next to Add Area of Interest from the top-left of the map.
• Select Upload Polygon which allows you to upload the downloaded geojson file from your local device.
• Once you have selected your area, it will appear on the map, colour coded to the list of areas.

Step 2: Select the Fire data

• Select the data you want to use from the Use this Dataset block in the INPUT>Insert Dataset toolbox.
• Use the search icon on the block to browse the Dataset Finder.
• Select the "Fire" keyword and pick: FIRMS: Fire Information for Resource Management System.
• Ensure that the Add Recommended Blocks option is selected.

Step 3: Filter to get the right fire data

• In the box on the Select Area of Interest block this should have automatically selected Area 1.
• In the Select Time Period block for the FIRMS data type 2021-07-13 in the From box, and 2021-10-25 in the To box
• In the Collate Images in Time block select Over entire time period and use the Max value.

Step 4: Visualise the fire data

• Add an output block from within the OUTPUT toolbox. To visualise data on the map select the Add to Map block within OUTPUT>Image Output section of the Toolbox. Drag it into your workflow and then choose how you would like to visualise your data. By selecting the options icon you will be able to adjust how the data appears.

• For this example, we would recommend using Select single band and choose the confidence option, then in Visualisation options select the Reds colour band and p98 from the Contrast Options.

Step 5: Select the Land Cover data

• Select the land cover data you want to use from the Use this Dataset block in the INPUT>Insert Dataset toolbox.
• Use the searching icon to browse the Dataset Finder, and select ESA WorldCover 10m.

• Again, ensure that the Add Recommended Blocks option is selected.

Step 6: Filter to get the right land cover data

• In the Select Study Area block for both datasets, this should have automatically selected Area 1.
• In the Select Time Period box for the ESA WorldCover 10m data type 2021-01-01 in the From box, and 2021-12-31 in the To box

Step 7: Visualise the land cover data

• Add an output block from within the OUTPUT toolbox. To visualise data on the map select the Add to Map block within OUTPUT>Image Output section of the Toolbox.
• For this example, we would recommend leaving the default options.

Step 8: Save the land cover data for re-use

• Add an output block from within the OUTPUT toolbox. To save data for re-use select the Save Data for Re-use block within OUTPUT>Image Output section of the Toolbox.

Step 9: Create your statistical outputs

• Add a table block from within the OUTPUT toolbox. To generate a table output, go to OUTPUT>Dashboard and select the Add Table block and drag it into the Fires workflow.
• Choose the Table Options icon to configure the table
• The fires dataset should already be selected, along with the time period. Under Properties select confidence. Under Role select Area.
• You will see a preview of your table, with some example data (not your data).
• Click Save.

• Drag another Add Table block under the first block. Again choose the same parameters as above.
• This time select the ADD DATA+ option to create a new row in your configuration
• Select the Land Cover dataset from the drop-down, and select all the dates, for Properties select Landcover and for Role select Add to Rows
• Again, you will see a preview. 
• Click Save.

Step 10: Run your workflow

• Run the workflow by clicking on the RUN WORKFLOW button to run the workflow.
• Earth Blox will now process your workflow, and when it has finished the outputs will become available on the map.
• The table outputs will appear in the Dashboard tab.
• You can download these outputs by clicking on the Download icon in the bottom right of each table.