Remote Sensing in Sierra Nevada: From Abiotic Processes to Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions and Services

Alcaraz‐Segura, Domingo; Cabello, Javier; Arenas‐Castro, Salvador; Peñas, Julio; Vaz, Ana Sofia

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94219-9_19

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…This would allow one to know not only the behavior of populations over long periods of time, but also their responses to disturbances, such as fires, over large areas of land. This work provides an additional example of how remote-sensing technologies can contribute to conservation in a biodiversity super-hotspot such as Sierra Nevada (Spain) [81].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Sensing-Based Monitoring of Postfire Recovery of Persistent Shrubs: The Case of Juniperus communis in Sierra Nevada (Spain)

Blanco‐Sacristán

Guirado

Molina-Pardo

et al. 2022

Fire

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Wildfires affect the structure, functioning, and composition of ecosystems. Long-term monitoring of the occurrence, abundance, and growth of plant species is key to assessing the responses of the dynamics of plant populations with regard to environmental disturbances, such as wildfires. In this work, we evaluated the changes in the number of individuals and the canopy cover extent of a population of Juniperus communis L. during a four-decade period following a wildfire in a Mediterranean high-mountain ecosystem (Sierra Nevada, Spain). To do this, we used object-based image analysis (OBIA) applied to very high-resolution aerial images. Our study also provides a new approach to optimize the shrub identification process and to semi-automatically evaluate the accuracy of the number of shrubs and their canopy cover. From the 752 individuals present in 1977, only 433 remained immediately after a fire (1984), a few more disappeared one decade later (420 shrubs in 1997), while by 2008, the population had partially recovered to 578 shrubs. The wildfire decreased juniper canopy cover from 55,000 m2 to 40,000 m2, but two decades later it had already recovered to 57,000 m2. The largest shrubs were more resistant to fire than the smallest ones and recovered in a shorter time period. The protection measures introduced with the park declaration seemed to have contributed to the post-fire recovery. The potential of this methodology in the management and conservation of biodiversity in the future is also discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%