On the use of satellite Sentinel 2 data for automatic mapping of burnt areas and burn severity

In this paper, we present and discuss the preliminary tools we devised for the automatic recognition of burnt areas and burn severity developed in the framework of the EU-funded SERV_FORFIRE project. The project is focused on the set up of operational services for fire monitoring and mitigation specifically devised for decision-makers and planning authorities. The main objectives of SERV_FORFIRE are: (i) to create a bridge between observations, model development, operational products, information translation and user uptake; and (ii) to contribute to creating an international collaborative community made up of researchers and decision-makers and planning authorities. For the purpose of this study, investigations into a fire burnt area were conducted in the south of Italy from a fire that occurred on 10 August 2017, affecting both the protected natural site of Pignola (Potenza, South of Italy) and agricultural lands. Sentinel 2 data were processed to identify and map different burnt areas and burn severity levels. Local Index for Statistical Analyses LISA were used to overcome the limits of fixed threshold values and to devise an automatic approach that is easier to re-apply to diverse ecosystems and geographic regions. The validation was assessed using 15 random plots selected from in situ analyses performed extensively in the investigated burnt area. The field survey showed a success rate of around 95%, whereas the commission and omission errors were around 3% of and 2%, respectively. Overall, our findings indicate that the use of Sentinel 2 data allows the development of standardized burn severity maps to evaluate fire effects and address post-fire management activities that support planning, decision-making, and mitigation strategies.Fil: Lasaponara, Rosa. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; ItaliaFil: Tucci, Biagio. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; ItaliaFil: Ghermandi, Luciana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

Advances in Remote Sensing and GIS applications in Forest Fire Management: from local to global assessments

This report contains the proceedings of the 8th International Workshop of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL) Special Interest Group on Forest Fires, that took place in Stresa, (Italy) on 20-21 October 2011. The main subject of the workshop was the operational use of remote sensing in forest fire management and different spatial scales were addressed, from local to regional and from national to global. Topics of the workshops were also grouped according to the fire management stage considered for the application of remote sensing techniques, addressing pre fire, during fire or post fire conditions.JRC.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Mapping burn scars, fire severity and soil erosion susceptibility in southern France using multisensoral satellite data

This article focuses on the mapping of fire burn scars, fire severity and soil erosion susceptibility using multi-sensoral satellite data. An automatic procedure for the mapping of fire affected areas and for the estimation of fire severity using Sentinel-2 data is presented. The Sentinel-2 based classification results are compared to a burn scar derived by a semi-automatic object-based approach using Sentinel-1 amplitude and coherence time-series data systematically processed by the Sentinel-1 InSAR Browse service implemented on the Geohazard Exploitation Platform (GEP) of ESA. Further, a transferable approach to compute a soil erosion susceptibility index based on Pléiades data is presented. The SAR- and optical-data based methods are applied in a test area near Marseille/Vitrolles, France, which was affected by severe forest fires in August 2016