Analyzing the Resilience of Mediterranean Forest Systems to Wildfire Using Satellite Imagery

By dietrich.vennemann | Thu, 8 Sep 2011 - 11:45
Europe
Portugal

 

The objective is to monitor vegetation recovery after the large fires of 2003 in Portugal using a time-series of MODIS Terra Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data. Post-fire vegetation regeneration rate was estimated using Olson’s model. We attempted to model it as a function of fire history, including number of times burned prior to 2003. This study shows that satellite imagery can be very valuable for studying post-fire vegetation response, and this can contribute to a better understanding of wildfires, lead to improved management strategies for prevention, or even improve allocation of firefighting resources.

 

Alexandre P.M. (2011) Analyzing the Resilience of Mediterranean Forest Systems to Wildfire Using Satellite Imagery. Earthzine, posted on March 24th, 2011 in Articles, Disaster Management, Earth Observation, Ecosystems

Patrícia Malico Alexandre