Maps of fire occurrence – spatially explicit reconstruction of recent fire history using satellite remote sensing

Abstract

Maps depicting the spatially explicit fire history of an area, including variables such as fire frequency and fire return interval, are important tools promoting the understanding of processes associated with wildfires (fire ignition and spread), the assessment of the impacts of wildland fires on landscape dynamics, and decisions on appropriate management practices. Remote sensing is a cost-and time-effective alternative to automatically assess a vast amount of spatial information and produce various thematic maps. The aim of this study was to reconstruct the recent fire history of Attica region (Greece), in a spatially explicit mode by means of remote sensing techniques using a series of Landsat images acquired from 1984 to 2011. The results show that the fire scar perimeters were captured with high accuracy. Regression modelling shows that the differences between the area burned estimated from satellite data and that recorded by the forest service can be explained (86.3% of the variance) by the number of satellite images used (standardized coefficient 0.752) followed by the date of the first image (standardized coefficient 0.705). The use of satellite data as the basic source of information alongside automated classification methods should be promoted for the creation of fire history maps. The latter is further supported when considering the long history of data capture from Landsat satellites, which provide a huge, global historical archive of repeat images of the Earth's surface.

A Revised Historical Fire Regime Analysis in Tunisia (1985–2010) from a Critical Analysis of the National Fire Database and Remote Sensing

“…The variance in accuracy results imposed by the different methods applied was less than that imposed by factors differentiated locally in the three test sites. Similar results were also observed for the recent fire history of Attica region (Greece), reconstructed from a series of Landsat images acquired from 1984 to 2011 [68]. Regression modeling showed that the observed differences in the area burned could be explained by the number of satellite images used (86.3% of the variance) followed by the acquisition date of the first image.…”

Comparing the spectral signal of burned surfaces between Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 OLI sensors

“…Koutsias and M. Pleniou acquired after the Landsat 7 ETM+; however, in the cases of Serifos and Rhodes islands, Landsat 8 OLI images were acquired before the Landsat 7 ETM+. This finding denotes the importance of the image acquisition date for the characterization of the spectral signal of burned surfaces as compared to the pre-fire vegetation, which is also dependent on the type of vegetation burned (Pleniou et al 2012). From the spectral signature plots presented in Figures 4 and 5, a general consistency is observed between the two sensors.…”

Modelling surface runoff to evaluate the effects of wildfires in multiple semi‐arid, shrubland‐dominated catchments

“…The area experiences frequent wildfires, creating a special fire regime characterized by rather small fire return intervals (Pleniou et al ., ), in the order of less than 20 years. Recently, the study area has been burned by two wildfires in August 1995 and in August 2009.…”