Assessing defoliation in the Boise National Forest
ForWarn’s ability to accurately map defoliation comes from the high temporal frequency of the source imagery (MODIS). With any change detection, multiple disturbances are often at work in the same landscape at the same time, so careful assessment requires consideration of other stressors or disturbances.
In the Boise National Forest, defoliation from the spruce budworm and large wildfire have been recurring every year. Recently, a periodic eruption of the Douglas fir tussock moth has begun, and drought is episodic.