❓ Hon Dr Brad Pettitt asks about burn severity mapping, criteria, and public availability. The Minister responds that the mapping process is being refined and provides details on current practices and future intentions for public access.
AnsweredQoN 1513Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Burn Severity Maps discussed in the Minister for Environment’s response to petition 029, and I ask: (a) will the Minister please provide the burn severity criteria that will be used to define each category of burn severity in each type of forest; (b) how many burn severity maps were produced for each of the five previous years; (c) will the Minister please table the maps in (b); (d) if no to (b), why not; (e) how many burn severity maps will be produced for the 2023 fire season; (f) will the Minister please table all burn severity maps in (d) that have been completed; (g) if no to (f), why not; (h) will the Minister commit to making all burn severity maps publicly available as soon as they are completed; and (i) if no to (h), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 September 2023
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Environment
Response time
7 days
a) The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is refining the process using remote sensing technology to increase the accuracy and objectivity of burn severity maps produced for areas where prescribed burning is undertaken. At present this trial mapping is available for forest areas in DBCA’s three forest regions, with five severity classes applied as follows:
i. Unburnt
ii. Low
iii. Medium
iv. High
v. Very High
Recently a burnt heath category has also been added to the severity classes due to the current inability to differentiate severity in this vegetation type.
The characteristics of these severity classes can be found in the tabled paper #.
b) The burn severity mapping process has been developed over several years and has only been applied as a broadscale operational trial since January 2023. An indicative burn severity map is generated on request from the relevant DBCA region or district undertaking the prescribed burn. The actual area of treatment may be smaller than the total planned burn area identified. The indicative burn severity mapping product is currently being trialled operationally and requires further ground-truthing and refinement to ensure that the remote sensing output is reflecting what is represented in the field. DBCA scientists are continuing to conduct fieldwork and incorporate technological advances to inform the burn severity mapping process and improve the maps' accuracy and detail over time.
Forty-two indicative burn severity maps were produced for the period 1 January to 30 June 2023.
Year
Number of maps produced
2018/19
Nil
2019/20
Nil
2020/21
Nil
2021/22
Nil
2022/23
42
c) See tabled paper #.
d) Not applicable.
e) Indicative burn severity maps are produced according to the number of prescribed burns implemented, a process that depends on weather, fuel and climate conditions being met. It is not possible to confirm the total number of indicative maps that may be produced for 2023 as these will be produced on an as needs basis.
f) Not applicable.
g) Not applicable.
h-i) DBCA’s indicative burn severity mapping process is still being refined and additional data and technology advances should improve its accuracy. It is DBCA’s intention to have a publicly available burn severity product available for all prescribed burns completed in DBCA’s three south-west forest regions.
i. Unburnt
ii. Low
iii. Medium
iv. High
v. Very High
Recently a burnt heath category has also been added to the severity classes due to the current inability to differentiate severity in this vegetation type.
The characteristics of these severity classes can be found in the tabled paper #.
b) The burn severity mapping process has been developed over several years and has only been applied as a broadscale operational trial since January 2023. An indicative burn severity map is generated on request from the relevant DBCA region or district undertaking the prescribed burn. The actual area of treatment may be smaller than the total planned burn area identified. The indicative burn severity mapping product is currently being trialled operationally and requires further ground-truthing and refinement to ensure that the remote sensing output is reflecting what is represented in the field. DBCA scientists are continuing to conduct fieldwork and incorporate technological advances to inform the burn severity mapping process and improve the maps' accuracy and detail over time.
Forty-two indicative burn severity maps were produced for the period 1 January to 30 June 2023.
Year
Number of maps produced
2018/19
Nil
2019/20
Nil
2020/21
Nil
2021/22
Nil
2022/23
42
c) See tabled paper #.
d) Not applicable.
e) Indicative burn severity maps are produced according to the number of prescribed burns implemented, a process that depends on weather, fuel and climate conditions being met. It is not possible to confirm the total number of indicative maps that may be produced for 2023 as these will be produced on an as needs basis.
f) Not applicable.
g) Not applicable.
h-i) DBCA’s indicative burn severity mapping process is still being refined and additional data and technology advances should improve its accuracy. It is DBCA’s intention to have a publicly available burn severity product available for all prescribed burns completed in DBCA’s three south-west forest regions.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.