Colin Squirrell

In 1998, an unprecedented ice storm produced a wide swath of forest damage across Eastern Ontario, Southern Quebec, Northern New York State, and much of the New England. This study builds upon previously collected data that mapped damage lntensity immediately following the storm. It uses a time-series of six Landsat satellite ,images to investigate vegetation response within the heavily damaged Adirondack Mountains, New York State. Forest bio-physical properties were modeled using two vegetation indices: The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NOVI) and the Disturbance Index (01), which was derived from the Tasselled Cap Transformation Index. Using these indices, some variability in pre-storm baseline conditions was found; however, a statistically significant difference in vegetation response was observed in the first post-storm image acquired in the summer of 1998. NOVI and 01 showed a rapid . response in both moderate and heavily damaged forests, returning to pre-storm values within two to four years. Fieldwork conducted in July 2007 confirmed the majority of this vegetation response was attributable to vigorous understory growth, and not a return of , the upper forest canopy to pre-storm conditions.