Lava to Leaf: Remote Sensing of Post-Eruption Ecological Succession on the 2018 Kīlauea Lava Flows

Abstract

Famous for its frequent eruptive activity, Kīlauea is the most active volcano on the island of Hawai’i. Its 2018 eruption produced over 35 square kilometers of lava flows across the southeastern portion of the island. In the following years, ecological succession has brought plant life back to the landscape. For this study, imagery provided by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel-2 satellite was used to track the return of vegetation to the lava flow; this was accomplished using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which estimates plant health and density. In addition, ESA Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) data supplemented NDVI estimates. Thermal imagery was acquired via NASA’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) and Landsat 8/9 satellites. The goals of the study were to map the plant recovery process and identify the environmental factors that influence the rate of ecological succession on the 2018 lava flows. The hypothesis is that proximity to existing vegetation and decreasing ground temperatures increases the rate of vegetation recovery