~S~imating Canopy water content Of Chaparral Shrubs using Optical Methods Submittedby

Californiachaparralecosystemsare exceptionallyfire adaptedand typicallyare subjectto wildfireat decadalto centuryfrequencies. The hot dry Mediterraneanclimatesummersand the chaparralcommunities of the SantaMonicaMountainsmakewildfireonc of the most serious economic and life-threatening natural disasters faced by the region. Additionally, the steep fire-burned hillsides arc subject to erosion, slumpage, and mud slides during the winter rains. The Santa Monica Mountain zone (SMMZ)is a 104,000ha eastwest trendingrangewith 607 m of verticalreliefand locatedin the centerof the greaterLos Angelesregion. A series of tires in the fall of 1993 burned from Simi Valley to Santa Monica within a few hours. Developing techniques to monitor fire hazard and predict the spread of tire is of major concern to the region. One key factor in the susceptibility to fire is the water content of the vegetation canopy. The development of imaging spectrometry and remote sensing techniques may constitute a tool to provide this information.