Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ Data
Wildfires have significant environmental and socio-economic impacts, affecting ecosystems and people worldwide. Over the coming decades, it is expected that the intensity and impact of wildfires will grow depending on the variability of climate parameters. Although Bulgaria is not situated within th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/24/6266 |
| _version_ | 1797455480426070016 |
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| author | Daniela Avetisyan Emiliya Velizarova Lachezar Filchev |
| author_facet | Daniela Avetisyan Emiliya Velizarova Lachezar Filchev |
| author_sort | Daniela Avetisyan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wildfires have significant environmental and socio-economic impacts, affecting ecosystems and people worldwide. Over the coming decades, it is expected that the intensity and impact of wildfires will grow depending on the variability of climate parameters. Although Bulgaria is not situated within the geographical borders of the Mediterranean region, which is one of the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of temperature extremes, the climate is strongly influenced by it. Forests are amongst the most vulnerable ecosystems affected by wildfires. They are insufficiently adapted to fire, and the monitoring of fire impacts and post-fire recovery processes is of utmost importance for suggesting actions to mitigate the risk and impact of that catastrophic event. This paper investigated the forest vegetation recovery process after a wildfire in the Ardino region, southeast Bulgaria from the period between 2016 and 2021. The study aimed to present a monitoring approach for the estimation of the post-fire vegetation state with an emphasis on fire-affected territory mapping, evaluation of vegetation damage, fire and burn severity estimation, and assessment of their influence on vegetation recovery. The study used satellite remotely sensed imagery and respective indices of greenness, moisture, and fire severity from Sentinel-2. It utilized the potential of the landscape approach in monitoring processes occurring in fire-affected forest ecosystems. Ancillary data about pre-fire vegetation state and slope inclinations were used to supplement our analysis for a better understanding of the fire regime and post-fire vegetation damages. Slope aspects were used to estimate and compare their impact on the ecosystems’ post-fire recovery capacity. Soil data were involved in the interpretation of the results. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:54:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e91a6fad08b7416bae91a4b1a2491d3e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:54:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-e91a6fad08b7416bae91a4b1a2491d3e2023-11-24T17:46:51ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-12-011424626610.3390/rs14246266Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ DataDaniela Avetisyan0Emiliya Velizarova1Lachezar Filchev2Space Research and Technology Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str. Bl. 1, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaMinistry of Environment and Water, Maria Luisa Blvd. 22, 1000 Sofia, BulgariaSpace Research and Technology Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str. Bl. 1, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaWildfires have significant environmental and socio-economic impacts, affecting ecosystems and people worldwide. Over the coming decades, it is expected that the intensity and impact of wildfires will grow depending on the variability of climate parameters. Although Bulgaria is not situated within the geographical borders of the Mediterranean region, which is one of the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of temperature extremes, the climate is strongly influenced by it. Forests are amongst the most vulnerable ecosystems affected by wildfires. They are insufficiently adapted to fire, and the monitoring of fire impacts and post-fire recovery processes is of utmost importance for suggesting actions to mitigate the risk and impact of that catastrophic event. This paper investigated the forest vegetation recovery process after a wildfire in the Ardino region, southeast Bulgaria from the period between 2016 and 2021. The study aimed to present a monitoring approach for the estimation of the post-fire vegetation state with an emphasis on fire-affected territory mapping, evaluation of vegetation damage, fire and burn severity estimation, and assessment of their influence on vegetation recovery. The study used satellite remotely sensed imagery and respective indices of greenness, moisture, and fire severity from Sentinel-2. It utilized the potential of the landscape approach in monitoring processes occurring in fire-affected forest ecosystems. Ancillary data about pre-fire vegetation state and slope inclinations were used to supplement our analysis for a better understanding of the fire regime and post-fire vegetation damages. Slope aspects were used to estimate and compare their impact on the ecosystems’ post-fire recovery capacity. Soil data were involved in the interpretation of the results.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/24/6266fire impactpost-fire forest recoveryforest landscapesvegetation indicesorthogonal transformationSentinel-2 |
| spellingShingle | Daniela Avetisyan Emiliya Velizarova Lachezar Filchev Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ Data Remote Sensing fire impact post-fire forest recovery forest landscapes vegetation indices orthogonal transformation Sentinel-2 |
| title | Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ Data |
| title_full | Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ Data |
| title_fullStr | Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ Data |
| title_short | Post-Fire Forest Vegetation State Monitoring through Satellite Remote Sensing and In Situ Data |
| title_sort | post fire forest vegetation state monitoring through satellite remote sensing and in situ data |
| topic | fire impact post-fire forest recovery forest landscapes vegetation indices orthogonal transformation Sentinel-2 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/24/6266 |
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