Dr. Eric S. Kasischke

 
Education

PhD  Remote Sensing/Forest Ecology, The University of Michigan, 1992
MS   Remote Sensing, The University of Michigan, 1980
BS    Natural Resources, The University of Michigan, 1974

Research Interests

• Carbon Cycling
• Fire emissions
• Responses of boreal forests and peatlands to fire
• SAR Characterization of land surfaces

Dr. Kasischke's research interests focus on two areas: (1) understanding how fire and the climate interact to influence ecosystem processes and carbon cycling in the world's boreal forests and peatlands; and (2) developing approaches to use spaceborne imaging synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to monitor spatial and temporal characteristics of the earth's land surface. In carrying out this research, he conducts inter-disciplinary research with ecologists, atmospheric scientists, carbon cycle modelers and scientists interested in using remote sensing to observe the effects of fire throughout the boreal region. His current research is focused in several areas. First, carrying out field-based research on patterns of fire severity and post-fire succession in Interior Alaska. Second, carrying out analyses of how to use satellite imagery to assess fire severity and post-fire vegetation regeneration. Third, assessing the degree to which SAR imagery can be used to monitor variations in soil moisture and inundation in boreal forests and peatlands. And fourth, developing approaches to integrate field and satellite observations to assess changes in terrestrial carbon cycling in the boreal region. He is also leading a synthesis effort on the impacts of disturbance on the terrestrial carbon budget for the North American Carbon Program. Finally, he is leading an effort to define a large-scale, multi-year field campaign for NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology Program

• Senior Investigator – Bonanza Creek LTER Program
• Remote Monitoring of Changes in Forest Functional Types after Disturbance from Fire in the North American Boreal Region: Implications for Interpreting the Effects of Satellite-Observed Changes in Vegetation Greenness of the Terrestrial Carbon Budget
• Assessing the Impacts of Fire and Insect Disturbance on the Terrestrial Carbon Budgets of Forested Areas in Canada, Alaska, and the Western United States
• Vulnerability and Resiliency of Arctic and Sub-Arctic Landscapes (VuRSAL) -  the Role of Interactions between Climate, Permafrost, Hydrology, and Disturbance in Driving Ecosystem Processes

Representative Papers

Alcarez-Segura, D., E. Chuvieco, H.E. Epstein, E.S. Kasischke, and A. Trishchenko, Debating the greening vs. browning of the North American boreal forest: differences between satellite datasets, Glob Change Biol., DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.01956.x, published online April, 2009.

 

Kasischke, E. S., L. L. Bourgeau-Chavez, A. R. Rober, K. H. Wyatt, J. M. Waddington, and M. R. Turetsky. Effects of soil moisture and water depth on ERS SAR backscatter measurements from an Alaskan wetland complex. Rem. Sens. Environ., 113, 1868-1873, 2009.

  Yi, S., A.D. McGuire, J. Harden, E. Kasischke, K. Manies, L. Hinzman, A. Liljedahl, J. Randerson, H. Liu, V. E. Romanovsky, S. Marchenko, and Y. Kim, Interactions between soil, thermal and hydrological dynamics in the response of Alaska ecosystems to fire disturbance, J. Geophys. Res., 114, article no. G02015, doi:10.1029/2008JG000841, 2009.

 French, N.H.F.,  J.L. Allen, R.J. Hall, E.E. Hoy, E.S. Kasischke, K.A. Murphy, and D.L. Verbyla, Using Landsat Data to assess fire and burn severity in the North American boreal forest region: an overview, Int. J. Wildland Fire, 17, 443-462, 2008 2,3.

 

Hoy, E.E., N.H.F. French, M.R. Turetsky, S.N. Trigg, and E.S. Kasischke, Evaluating the potential of the normalized burn ratio and other spectral indices for assessment of fire severity in Alaskan black spruce forests, Int. J. Wildland Fire, 17, 500-514, 2008.

 

Kasischke, E.S., M.R. Turetsky, R.D. Ottmar, N.H.F. French, G. Shetler, E.E. Hoy, and E.S. Kane, Evaluation of the composite burn index for assessing fire severity in Alaskan black spruce forests, Int. J. Wildland Fire, 17, 515-526, 2008.
Lang, M. and E.S. Kasischke, Using C-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar Data to Monitor Forested Wetland Hydrology in Maryland's Coastal Plain, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Rem. Sens. 46, 535-546,doi:10.1109/TGRS.2007.909950. 2008.

 

Shetler, G., M.R. Turetsky, E.S. Kane, and E.S. Kasischke, Sphagnum mossess control ground-layer fuel consumption during fire in Alaskan black spruce forests: implications for long-term carbon storage. Can J. For. Res., 38,2328-2336,2008.
Balshi, M.S., A.D. McGuire, Q. Zhuang, J. Mellilo, D.W. Kicklighter, E.S. Kasischke, C. Wirth, M. Flannigan, J. Harden, J.S. Clein, T.J. Burnside, J. McAllister, W. Kurz, M. Apps, and A. Shvidenko, The role of historical fire disturbance in the carbon dynamics of the pan-boreal region: A process-based analysis, J.Geophys. Res,112, G02029, doi:10.1029/2006JG000380, 2007.

 

Bourgeau-Chavez, L.L., E.S. Kasischke, K. Riordan, S. Brunzell, M. Nolan, E. Hyer, M. Medvecz, T. Walters, and S. Ames, Remote monitoring of spatial and temporal surface soil moisture in fire disturbed boreal forest ecosystems with ERS SAR imagery, Int. J. Remote Sens., 28, 2133-2162, doi:10.1080/0143116060097606, 2007.

 

Chuvieco, E. and E.S. Kasischke, Remote sensing information for fire management and fire effects assessment, J. Geophy. Res., 112, G01S90, doi:10.1029/2006JG00023, 2007.
Hyer, E.J., E.S. Kasischke, and D.J. Allen, Effects of source temporal resolution on transport simulations of boreal fire emissions, J. Geophy. Res., 112, D01302, doi:10.1029/2006JD007234, 2007.

See Professor Kasischke's personal website for full lists of publications and projects.