Assessing the impact of post-fire restoration interventions using spectral vegetation indices: A case study in El Bruc, Spain
(2022) In Master Thesis in Geographical Information Science GISM01 20221Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- Abstract
- Ecological restoration has become an increasingly used practice to revert degraded land and mitigate the effects of extreme events in vulnerable biomes such as drylands. Methods to improve the assessment of these restoration interventions are essential to ensure their success, optimize resources and identify improvement aspects for future interventions. This study develops a method to assess the performance of post-fire restoration interventions on a pixel level when access to pre- and post- fire field data is limited, therefore depending on remote sensing data. The approach takes into account restoration intervention objectives, the state of the area before the intervention efforts began and key terrain variables.
This method was... (More) - Ecological restoration has become an increasingly used practice to revert degraded land and mitigate the effects of extreme events in vulnerable biomes such as drylands. Methods to improve the assessment of these restoration interventions are essential to ensure their success, optimize resources and identify improvement aspects for future interventions. This study develops a method to assess the performance of post-fire restoration interventions on a pixel level when access to pre- and post- fire field data is limited, therefore depending on remote sensing data. The approach takes into account restoration intervention objectives, the state of the area before the intervention efforts began and key terrain variables.
This method was applied to a restoration intervention made in a burnt forest in north-east Spain, where an agro-silvopastoral mosaic has been conceived under the frame of a Life 2020 program. To assess the restoration performance, different spectral vegetation indices (SVIs) linked to the objectives were used. By using the Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) statistical method, the study isolates the impact of the interventions from temporal variability and natural regrowth. The study explored the effects of the interventions by comparing restoration types (active or passive), terrain variables and the post-fire recovery levels before the intervention efforts began. The study also showed that the sole use of one SVI to assess the impact of restoration interventions may lead to limited conclusions as the three selected indices were outputting different levels of performance for the comparisons undertaken. The pixel level analysis also allowed to map the detailed variation in performance across areas. The core of this method can be applied to other restoration intervention scenarios other than post-fire and its affordability could allow for its integration in monitoring protocols in large-scale endeavors such as the current UN Decade on Ecological Restoration program. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Assessing restoration interventions after fire using satellite data
Ecological restoration has become an increasingly used practice to revert degraded land and mitigate the effects of extreme events. Methods to improve the assessment of these restoration interventions are essential to ensure their success, optimize resources and identify improvement aspects for future interventions. This study develops a method to assess the performance of post-fire restoration interventions using data obtained from imagery obtained via satellite.
This method was applied to a restoration intervention made in a burnt forest in north-east Spain, where a landscape mosaic has been conceived to integrate forest, farming and harvesting activities. The... (More) - Assessing restoration interventions after fire using satellite data
Ecological restoration has become an increasingly used practice to revert degraded land and mitigate the effects of extreme events. Methods to improve the assessment of these restoration interventions are essential to ensure their success, optimize resources and identify improvement aspects for future interventions. This study develops a method to assess the performance of post-fire restoration interventions using data obtained from imagery obtained via satellite.
This method was applied to a restoration intervention made in a burnt forest in north-east Spain, where a landscape mosaic has been conceived to integrate forest, farming and harvesting activities. The approach takes into account the land use objectives, the state of the area before the intervention efforts began and key terrain variables like slope and orientation. The tool used to assess the performance of the restoration is spectral vegetation indices (SVIs), retrieved from the imagery. These indices allow to capture the state of different attributes of the terrain. In this study we chose SVIs related to regrowth, greenness and moisture. By using a statistical method called Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI), we can see how these indices have been evolving since the intervention was made, therefore comparing its progress with areas that have not been restored. This allows to evaluate the degree of success of the interventions.
The study explored the effects of the interventions by comparing restoration types - active, where reforestation activities have been undertaken or passive, where only protection of the terrain has been done to ensure that grazing did not affect the area -, slope, orientation and the level of soil degradation before the intervention efforts began. This comparison showed how different types of areas had different intervention results.
The study also showed that the sole use of one SVI to assess the impact of restoration interventions may lead to limited conclusions as the three selected indices were outputting different levels of performance for the comparisons undertaken. The core of this method can be applied to other restoration intervention scenarios other than post-fire. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9095848
- author
- Dorado Guerrero, Bernat LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- GISM01 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- geography, GIS, restoration intervention, drylands, monitoring, BACI, spectral vegetation indices
- publication/series
- Master Thesis in Geographical Information Science
- report number
- 147
- language
- English
- additional info
- Supervisor: Louise Willemen, Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, the Netherlands.
- id
- 9095848
- date added to LUP
- 2022-07-08 10:40:06
- date last changed
- 2022-07-08 10:40:06
@misc{9095848,
abstract = {{Ecological restoration has become an increasingly used practice to revert degraded land and mitigate the effects of extreme events in vulnerable biomes such as drylands. Methods to improve the assessment of these restoration interventions are essential to ensure their success, optimize resources and identify improvement aspects for future interventions. This study develops a method to assess the performance of post-fire restoration interventions on a pixel level when access to pre- and post- fire field data is limited, therefore depending on remote sensing data. The approach takes into account restoration intervention objectives, the state of the area before the intervention efforts began and key terrain variables.
This method was applied to a restoration intervention made in a burnt forest in north-east Spain, where an agro-silvopastoral mosaic has been conceived under the frame of a Life 2020 program. To assess the restoration performance, different spectral vegetation indices (SVIs) linked to the objectives were used. By using the Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) statistical method, the study isolates the impact of the interventions from temporal variability and natural regrowth. The study explored the effects of the interventions by comparing restoration types (active or passive), terrain variables and the post-fire recovery levels before the intervention efforts began. The study also showed that the sole use of one SVI to assess the impact of restoration interventions may lead to limited conclusions as the three selected indices were outputting different levels of performance for the comparisons undertaken. The pixel level analysis also allowed to map the detailed variation in performance across areas. The core of this method can be applied to other restoration intervention scenarios other than post-fire and its affordability could allow for its integration in monitoring protocols in large-scale endeavors such as the current UN Decade on Ecological Restoration program.}},
author = {{Dorado Guerrero, Bernat}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Master Thesis in Geographical Information Science}},
title = {{Assessing the impact of post-fire restoration interventions using spectral vegetation indices: A case study in El Bruc, Spain}},
year = {{2022}},
}