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ABSTRACT
Canopy base height (CBH) and canopy bulk density (CBD) are forest canopy fuel parameters that are key for modeling the behavior of crown wildfires. In this work, we map them at a pan-European scale for the year 2020, producing a new dataset consisting of two raster layers containing both variables at an approximate resolution of 100 m. Spatial data from Earth observation missions and derived down-stream products were retrieved and processed using artificial intelligence to first estimate a map of aboveground biomass (AGB). Allometric models were then used to estimate the spatial distribution of CBH using the canopy height values as explanatory variables and CBD using AGB values. Ad-hoc allometric models were defined for this study. Data provided by FIRE-RES project partners and acquired through field inventories was used for validating the final products using an independent dataset of 804 ground-truth sample plots. The CBH and CBD raster maps have, respectively, the following accuracy regarding specific metrics reported from the modeling procedures: (i) coefficient of correlation (R) of 0.445 and 0.330 (p-value < 0.001); (ii) root mean square of error (RMSE) of 3.9 m and 0.099 kg m−3; and (iii) a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 61% and 76%. Regarding CBD, the accuracy metrics improved in closed canopies (canopy cover > 80%) to
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1 Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Carretera de Sant Llorenç de Morunys , Solsona , Spain, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova , Legnaro (PD) , Italy
2 Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Carretera de Sant Llorenç de Morunys , Solsona , Spain, Joint Research Unit CTFC - AGROTECNIO, Carretera de Sant Llorenç de Morunys , Solsona , Spain
3 Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Carretera de Sant Llorenç de Morunys , Solsona , Spain
4 Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture (ISA), University of Lisbon , Lisbon , Portugal
5 Centre for Applied Ecology “Professor Baeta Neves” (CEABN), InBIO, School of Agriculture (ISA), University of Lisbon , Lisbon , Portugal
6 ForestWISE - Collaborative Laboratory for Integrated Forest & Fire Management, Quinta de Prados , Vila Real , Portugal
7 Division of Forestry and Forest Resources, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) , As , Norway
8 Department of Forestry and Natural Environment Management, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) , Karpenisi , Greece
9 Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Carretera de Sant Llorenç de Morunys , Solsona , Spain, Technosylva, Parque Tecnológico de León , León , Spain
10 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto per la BioEconomia , Sesto Fiorentino (FI) , Italy
11 Space Research and Technology Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences , Sofia , Bulgaria
12 Ecologie des Forêts Méditerranéennes (URFM), INRAE , Avignon , France
13 Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova , Legnaro (PD) , Italy, Interdepartmental Research Center of Geomatics (CIRGEO), University of Padova , Legnaro (PD) , Italy