USDA Perspectives on Monitoring and Assessing Drought Impacts and Fire Risk – May 23, 2023

Welcome and Introduction

Speaker: Marina Skumanich, NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS); National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network (NCSMMN)

• The National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network is a multi-agency effort to build a system for coordinated high-quality nationwide soil moisture information.
• Today's seminar will focus on USDA perspectives on monitoring and assessing drought impacts and fire risk.

Overview of USDA Engagement on Soil Moisture

Speaker: Mark Brusberg, Chief Meteorologist, USDA Office of the Chief Economist

• History of USDA’s interest and leadership in soil moisture, including history for determining drought relief, key events and studies that shaped the current system, and current authorizing requirements.
• Description of drought effects on forest types and USDA priority issues related to forests.

Current and Future Activities Related to Forest Soil Moisture Monitoring

Speaker: Stephanie Connolly, Soil Scientist Field Liaison, USDA Forest Service

• Forest conditions under-represented in U.S. Drought Monitor process and other national drought assessments.
• Current tools & research to support forest monitoring:
  • Forest Drought Response Index (ForDRI) - Combined model for monitoring forest drought in the Eastern U.S.
  • High Hazard Zone Viewer (ca.gov) - Wildfire hazard areas and plans to address with California
  • NASA Tracks the Link between Soil Moisture and Fire Susceptibility in California - Application of SMAP data to assess fire risk for preparedness and management decisions
  • Using soil moisture information to better understand and predict wildfire danger: a review of recent developments and outstanding questions - 2022 international review article
• Status of in situ soil moisture monitoring in forests:
  • First workshop held in Michigan 2018
  • General (e.g., state) mesonets - monitoring in forests very limited
    • NationalSoilMoisture.com
  • USFS Experimental Forests and Ranges - some long-term data collection has been conducted; key projects at gauged watersheds in Hubbard Brook, Coweeta, and Fernow Experimental Research Forests
• Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS):
  • RAWS provides an already established weather data collection network where soil moisture sensors can be added to increase the number of observations in forests.
  • Some implementation is occurring, but is currently not coordinated.
  • National fire danger rating systems would be able to utilize RAWS data for soil moisture models along with the other data RAWS collects for modeling. 
  • FEMS is a new wildland fire IT application, which will support wildland fire preparedness and decision-making with better access to fire environment datasets and online analysis tools, including those supported by RAWS data.
• Recent and current advances in USFS forest soil moisture monitoring:
  • Topofire (and recent webinar on Topofire)
  • Forest Soil Moisture Monitoring in the Daniel Boone National Forest
  • USFS National Technology & Development Program (NTDP): Remote Evaluation of Soil Moisture and Soil Strength
  • Vegetation and wildfire effects on snowpack dynamics and meltwater fate in mixed snow/rain montane watersheds - Sierra Ancho Experimental Forest
  • Citizen Science and Soil Moisture: Collaboratively Expanding Soil Moisture Data Collection in the Yampa Basin, Colorado
  • CoCoRaHS - Improving Drought Development and Drought Recovery Monitoring on Colorado Forest Land
  • Additional projects around the country

Summary and Recommendations

Speaker: Mark Brusberg, Chief Meteorologist, USDA Office of the Chief Economist

Questions & Answers