Peat Fire Detection to Estimate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Peat fires differ from other wildfires by significant carbon loss, the emission of greenhouse gases and other combustion products as well as by serious environmental consequences. Not only biomass but also peat is burnt. A possibility of detecting peat fires from satellite and ground-based data is considered for the fires in the Moscow region in 2010. The peat fire detection technique was tested by superimposing data on thermal anomalies from Terra/Aqua MODIS satellite data on the peatland contours, as well as by analyzing the vegetation cover changes before fires and the next year using the Landsat satellite multispectral data. Threshold values were found for the fire duration, maximum temperature, and maximum fire radiative power that characterize peat fires and can be used to discriminate between fires on peat lands and peat fires themselves for taking into account emissions not only from biomass burning but also from soil carbon loss.