UAVs Technology as a Complementary Tool in Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery Surveys in Mediterranean Fire-Prone Forests

Abstract

Forest fire is a recurring and serious environmental hazard, which is often due to the interaction between anthropogenic activities and climate change, despite having always characterized the vegetation landscape in the Mediterranean area. Alongside the required prevention and control works, there is an increasing need for post-fire monitoring. This is particularly relevant when it comes to natural or semi-natural forests, so that inappropriate reforestation is not undertaken without having well understood the dynamics of self-regeneration and the resilience of pre-existing phytocoenoses to fire. These monitoring operations often take a long time, but a quick picture of the severity of the fire and the response of the vegetation is also required. In this context, the data relating to post-fire surveys on a maritime pine forest of Monte Pisano (northern Tuscany, Italy), obtained from ground surveys and drone shots, are reported. This investigation showed: (1) UAV technology has proved to be very useful and fast, and it allows a good identification of tree/shrub species and forest structural parameters. (2) In these forests, repeated fires cause the disappearance of pine woods ad substitution with “pyroclimax” cork oak communities in equilibrium with a regime of repeated fires. (3) These first results, part of an ongoing investigation, contribute to a better understanding of the sylvogenetic processes following the passage of fire and can support the management of burned areas.

Reviewing the Palaeontological and Palaeoenvironmental Heritage of the Monti Pisani Massif (Italy): A Compelling History of Animals, Plants and Climates through Three Geological Eras

“…The Monti Pisani massif (also known as 'Monte Pisano') consists of moderately high elevations where the metamorphosed relics of the continental crust of the Adria microplate are exposed [5]. Violently hit by devastating fires in 2009 and then again in 2018 [6], this isolated portion of the Northern Apennines is home to a rich geodiversity that includes an impressive fossil record from the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras [7]. Fossils from the Monti Pisani area include specimens of international relevance, such as the exquisitely preserved Permo-Carboniferous plant remains from the vicinity of San Lorenzo a Vaccoli (e.g., Sabatini et al [8], and references therein).…”

Laser scanner and UAV digital photogrammetry as support tools for cosmic-ray muon radiography applications: an archaeological case study from Italy

“…This is because of their low cost, acquisition speed, and ease of application in dangerous and inaccessible environments. Many studies have confirmed the affordability and reliability of remote sensing techniques using UAV for landslide mapping and characterization 7,8 , multitemporal fluvial geomorphological evolution 9 , cultural heritage risk monitoring, protection, and conservation 6,10 , mapping tools for structural geology 11 , and post-fire vegetation survey campaigns 12 . Also LiDAR survey methods, i.e.…”

“…Figure12. In (a), the MIMA detector measuring the muon flux underground in a side corridor of the warehouse of the Palazzone necropolis.…”