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A remote sensing assessment of oak forest recovery after postfire restoration
Publication . Lopes, L. F.; Dias, F. S.; Fernandes, P. M.; Acácio, V.
Mediterranean Europe is experiencing a rise in severe wildfires, resulting in growing socioeconomic and ecological impacts.
Postfire restoration has become a crucial approach to mitigate these impacts and promote ecosystem recovery. However, the
ecological effects of such interventions are still not well understood. We employed remote sensing techniques to evaluate
the impact of postfire emergency stabilization on the recovery of deciduous oak forests in Portugal. Our study encompassed
3013 sampling points located in areas with and without postfire interventions. We chose the Normalized Difference Vegeta-
tion Index (NDVI) as an indicator of oak forest recovery over a four-year period following wildfires that took place in 2016
and 2017. We used a Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) to assess how NDVI changed over time as a function
of postfire restoration, fire characteristics, topography, and postfire drought events. We found that postfire restoration had a
significant positive effect on NDVI recovery over time, although this effect was small. Severe drought and fire recurrence up
to six fires had a negative effect on the recovery of NDVI. Conversely, severe wetness and either low or high burn severities
had a positive effect on recovery. Our study emphasizes the importance of monitoring postfire restoration effects on forest
recovery to guide restoration planning and improve forest management in burned areas. This becomes even more relevant
under increased wildfire severity predicted for the Mediterranean region interacting with other climate-driven disturbances,
which will further negatively affect forest recovery.
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
DL 57/2016
Número da atribuição
DL 57/2016/CP1382/CT0002