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A special issue of Fire (ISSN 2571-6255). This special issue belongs to the section "Fire Research at the Science–Policy–Practitioner Interface".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (19 September 2023) | Viewed by 26470

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Florent Mouillot

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Guest Editor

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR CEFE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, CEDEX 5, France
Interests: wildfire hazard; drought; ecosystem disturbances; remote sensing; ecosystem models

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mediterranean ecosystems with dry and hot summers are affected by recurrent wildfires which affect populations, infrastructures, ecosystems, air quality, soils, and watersheds. Vegetation strategies are well adapted to cope with this disturbance, allowing a fast recovery. However, recent trends in land use/land cover, firefighting strategies, and climate can with compensating effects lead to contrasted trends in the overall burned area and help us to make projections on fire hazard and hazardous impacts. If fire danger based on climate is increasing, the size and number of burned areas are mostly found to decrease. This trend hides other aspects of the change in the fire regime, such as the size and impacts of mega fires or fire seasonality and intensity. Understanding key aspects of fire danger and impacts, as well as future trends, is far from possible at present, and ongoing developments in fine spatiotemporal resolution in remote sensing, long-term data assemblages on burned areas and environmental variables, and plant function and modeling tools provide new information to better assess these changes and forecast future trends and impacts. This Special Issue on “Mediterranean Fires” aims at assembling current advances in fire hazards, drivers, impacts, and forecasts in the Mediterranean basin based on local- to Mediterranean-scale analysis through remote sensing, field experiments, and process-based or statistical modeling. Expected manuscripts will cover:

Fire regime analysis from paleo fires to historical reconstruction and recent, remotely sensed fire data;
Fire impacts on ecosystems, populations, infrastructures, soils, and biosphere/atmosphere interactions or air quality;
Fire driver analysis, such as climate, landscape pattern, plant functioning, wildland urban interface, and sociopolitical events through field experiments, data assemblage or remote sensing;
Process-based or statistical modeling of fire danger, fire hazard, plant fuel functioning, and fire impacts;
Future fire projection scenarios.

Data papers, reviews, technical developments (fire indices, remote sensing), model intercomparisons, transdisciplinarity, and manuscripts covering all countries around the Mediterranean basin are encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Florent Mouillot
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fire is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mid-Term Effects of Fire on Soil Properties of North-East Mediterranean Ecosystems

by Panteleimon Xofis, Peter G. Buckley, George Kefalas, Michail Chalaris and Jonathan Mitchley

Fire 2023, 6(9), 337; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6090337 - 28 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 947

Abstract

Fire is a fundamental ecological process with a long history on Earth, determining the distribution of vegetation formations across the globe. Fire, however, does not only affect the vegetation but also the soil on which vegetation grows, creating a post-fire environment that differs significantly in terms of soil chemical and physical properties from the pre-fire environment. The duration of these alterations remains largely unknown and depends both on the vegetation condition and the fire characteristics. In the current study, we investigate the effect of fire on some chemical and physical properties 11 years after the event in four plant communities. Two of them constitute typical Mediterranean fire-prone plant communities, dominated by sclerophyllous Mediterranean shrubs, such as Quercus coccifera and Q. ilex, while the other two are not considered fire prone and are dominated by deciduous broadleaved species such as Q. petraea and Castanea sativa, respectively. The results indicate that fire affects the soil properties of the various communities in a different manner. Burned sites in the Q. coccifera community have a significantly lower concentration of organic matter, total nitrogen, and available magnesium. At the same time, they have a significantly higher concentration of sand particles and a lower concentration of clay particles. The effect of fire on the soil properties of the other three communities is less dramatic, with differences only in total phosphorus, organic matter, and total nitrogen. The results are discussed in relation to the site conditions and the post-fire regeneration of plant communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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25 pages, 112657 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Visibility Evaluation and Suitability Analysis of Fire Lookout Towers in Mediterranean Region, Southwest Anatolia/Türkiye

by Ufuk Cosgun, Mücahit Coşkun, Ferhat Toprak, Damla Yıldız, Sevda Coşkun, Enes Taşoğlu and Ahmet Öztürk

Fire 2023, 6(8), 305; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6080305 - 07 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1368

Abstract

The effectiveness of fire towers in combating forest fires relies on their appropriate observation angles, enabling a swift and efficient response to fire incidents. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of 49 fire towers located within the Antalya Forestry Regional Directorate, situated in the Mediterranean basin—a region prone to frequent forest fires. The assessment encompasses the visibility of the entire study area, including forested regions, as well as the visibility of 2504 forest fires recorded by the towers between 2008 and 2021. Furthermore, the evaluation considers the objectives based on Forest Management Directorates and conducts a location suitability analysis for the six towers with the lowest visibility. We utilized the Viewshed Tool in the ArcGIS application and employed the Best–Worst approach. Two scenarios were devised, considering smoke height at 0 m or 100 m, to determine the visibility of fire lookout towers. In Scenario I, assuming a smoke height of 100 m, only three towers exhibited visibility above 70%. However, in Scenario II, assuming a smoke height of 0 m, no towers achieved visibility above 70%. Scenario I indicated that only two towers possessed a view of more than 70% of the forested region, while Scenario II suggested that no towers met this criterion. For the visibility of forest fires, Scenario I identified seven towers capable of observing more than 70%, whereas Scenario II indicated that no towers possessed such capability. In the tower suitability analysis, the visibility rates varied from 41.18% to 1016.67%. Based on the evaluation results, the current visibility capacities of the 49 fire towers proved insufficient for effective preventive measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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12 pages, 5388 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Burn Severity Effect on the Short-Term Functional Response of Quercus ilex after Fire

by Antonio Parra and M. Belén Hinojosa

Fire 2023, 6(8), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6080286 - 28 Jul 2023

Viewed by 826

Abstract

Understanding how fire severity affects resprouting plants during post-fire regeneration is key to anticipating Mediterranean vegetation vulnerability in a context of increasingly large fires with high intensity and severity due to climate change. Here, we monitored the water status, leaf gas exchange, and plant growth in holm oaks (Quercus ilex) of central Spain burned with different fire severity throughout the first post-fire year. The Q. ilex burned with high severity (HB+) showed higher water potential and shoot growth than those burned with low severity (LB+) or unburned (B−), especially during spring and summer. In summer, resprouting HB+ and LB+ plants exhibited higher carbon assimilation than unburned ones. Moreover, we also found that plants with higher water availability and growth, i.e., HB+ individuals, had higher specific leaf area and lower water use efficiency. Overall, our study shows that holm oak forests exhibit high plasticity to fire and that Q. ilex burned with high severity have a faster short-term regeneration than those burned with low severity. However, this rapid regeneration is based on a less conservative water-use strategy, which could jeopardize their populations in case of extreme drought events increasingly common in the current context of climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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18 pages, 2909 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Short-Term Effects of Experimental Fire on Physicochemical and Microbial Properties of a Mediterranean Cambisol

by Jasna Hrenović, Ivica Kisić, Domina Delač, Goran Durn, Igor Bogunović, Mateja Mikulec and Paulo Pereira

Fire 2023, 6(4), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6040155 - 13 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1317

Abstract

Little is known about the bonfire impact on microbial properties in soil. This work aimed to study moderate- to high-severity experimental burning (250 °C) compared to unburned Cambisol in a natural Mediterranean environment (Croatia) on selected soil properties. The soil was sampled immediately and 1, 2, 4, and 6 months after the fire. The fire increased the mean weight diameter, water stable aggregates, and water repellence in different soil fractions, and the observed effect was the strongest immediately after the fire. It also altered soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen carbon, and sulphur content, and completely destroyed carbapenem-resistant bacteria, but did not significantly affect the soil’s mineralogical properties. Six months after the fire, most microbial properties (save for pH) returned to near control values. Heterotrophic, sporogenic, and phosphate-solubilising bacteria started to recover after a month, whereas the population of carbapenem-resistant bacteria was destroyed initially, but recovered by the fourth month after the fire. Dehydrogenase activity was not significantly affected, but proper recovery started four months after the fire. Even though Cambisol showed some resilience to fire and its properties mostly returned to normal by the sixth month, and a full recovery is expected to occur later, as vegetation returns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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24 pages, 5316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Constructing a Comprehensive National Wildfire Database from Incomplete Sources: Israel as a Case Study

by Edna Guk, Avi Bar-Massada and Noam Levin

Fire 2023, 6(4), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6040131 - 23 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1433

Abstract

In many regions, the frequency and extent of wildfires has increased in recent years, a trend which is expected to continue. Hence, there is a need for effective fire management strategies. Such strategies need to be based on accurate and complete data on vegetation condition and post-fire effects, collected in the field as well as by remote sensing approaches. Unfortunately, wildfire databases are often incomplete in terms of their spatial and temporal coverage, as well as the documentation of fire outcomes. The aim of this study was to devise a methodology to construct a comprehensive national wildfire database. We developed and tested this methodology for Israel, as a case study. The methodology combines data on wildfires in Israel from two sources: remote sensing and field data collected by governmental agencies, representing the period between 2015 and 2022. The resulting database contains 2276 wildfires larger than 10 ha with information (where and when available) on their occurrence date, fire duration, ignition cause, and more. The methodology presented here provides a blueprint for developing large-scale and comprehensive fire databases elsewhere, and facilitates future studies on wildfire risk by providing a robust, unified database of the fire history of Israel from 2015 onwards. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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32 pages, 10649 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Indices Diagnosis of the Conditions That Led to the Two 2017 Major Wildfires in Portugal

by Cristina Andrade and Lourdes Bugalho

Fire 2023, 6(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6020056 - 06 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2678

Abstract

Forest fires, though part of a natural forest renewal process, when frequent and on a large -scale, have detrimental impacts on biodiversity, agroforestry systems, soil erosion, air, and water quality, infrastructures, and the economy. Portugal endures extreme forest fires, with a record extent of burned areas in 2017. These complexes of extreme wildfire events (CEWEs) concentrated in a few days but with highly burned areas are, among other factors, linked to severe fire weather conditions. In this study, a comparison between several fire danger indices (named ‘multi-indices diagnosis’) is performed for the control period 2001–2021, 2007 and 2017 (May–October) for the Fire Weather Index (FWI), Burning Index (BI), Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI), Continuous Haines Index (CHI), and the Keetch–Byram Drought Index (KBDI). Daily analysis for the so-called Pedrógão Grande wildfire (17 June) and the October major fires (15 October) included the Spread Component (SC), Ignition Component (IC), Initial Spread Index (ISI), Buildup Index (BUI), and the Energy Release Component (ERC). Results revealed statistically significant high above-average values for most of the indices for 2017 in comparison with 2001–2021, particularly for October. The spatial distribution of BI, IC, ERC, and SC had the best performance in capturing the locations of the two CEWEs that were driven by atmospheric instability along with a dry environment aloft. These results were confirmed by the hotspot analysis that showed statistically significant intense spatial clustering between these indices and the burned areas. The spatial patterns for SC and ISI showed high values associated with high velocities in the spread of these fires. The outcomes allowed us to conclude that since fire danger depends on several factors, a multi-indices diagnosis can be highly relevant. The implementation of a Multi-index Prediction Methodology should be able to further enhance the ability to track and forecast unique CEWEs since the shortcomings of some indices are compensated by the information retrieved by others, as shown in this study. Overall, a new forecast method can help ensure the development of appropriate spatial preparedness plans, proactive responses by civil protection regarding firefighter management, and suppression efforts to minimize the detrimental impacts of wildfires in Portugal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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11 pages, 2962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Post-Fire Management on a Mediterranean Small Mammal Community

by Ignasi Torre, Alexis Ribas and Roger Puig-Gironès

Fire 2023, 6(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6010034 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1734

Abstract

Wildfires simplify ecosystems, modifying the ecological niches of the fauna living in the recently burned areas. Small mammals respond rapidly to changes in habitat structure and composition after fire, but the effects of fire can be ameliorated by some management strategies (e.g., salvage logging). Hence, it is necessary to explore whether alternative management strategies may be able to return the ecosystem to its initial state. We studied the small mammal community by live trapping on eight plots under different post-fire treatments in Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac Natural Park (Barcelona province, NE Spain). At the community level, an increase in overall relative abundance and species density was observed in the burned areas. Apodemus sylvaticus, the most abundant mammal in study area, used woody debris piles as a shelter against predators. Mus spretus was more abundant in post-fire sites with large open areas interspersed with woody debris piles. Crocidura russula steadily increased its presence in later successional stages when ground cover became more complex. Our results suggest that combining different management strategies may be appropriate to improve the habitat suitability and biodiversity of small mammals and other key open-land species throughout the burned area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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27 pages, 8534 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Model to Estimate the Risk of Emission of Greenhouse Gases from Forest Fires

by Victoria Lerma-Arce, Celia Yagüe-Hurtado, Helena Van den Berg, Miguel García-Folgado, Jose-Vicente Oliver-Villanueva, Yacine Benhalima, Inês Marques-Duarte, Vanda Acácio, Francisco C. Rego, Eduardo López-Senespleda, María Menéndez-Miguélez, Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado, Thomas Petillon, Stéphanie Jalabert, Ester Carbó-Valverde, Eugenia Gimeno-García, Rebeca Aleix-Amurrio and Edgar Lorenzo-Sáez

Fire 2023, 6(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6010008 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3088

Abstract

While the Mediterranean basin is foreseen to be highly affected by climate change (CC) and severe forest fires are expected to be more frequent, international efforts to fight against CC do not consider forest fires’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions risk and the possibility of its mitigation. This is partly due to a lack of a methodology for GHG risk spatial assessment and consideration of the high value of carbon stocks in forest ecosystems and their intrinsic risk. To revert this, an innovative GHG emission risk model has been developed and implemented in a pilot forest area. This model considers geospatial variables to build up emission vulnerability based on potential fire severity and resistance of a landscape, value at risk and the hazard of a fire occurrence. The results classify low, moderate and high emission risks in the analysed areas. This identification of hotspots allows the prioritisation of fire prevention measures in a region to maximise the reduction of GHG emissions in the case of a fire event. This constitutes the first step in a holistic and consistent CC mitigation that not only considers anthropic GHG sources but also possible GHG emissions by forest fires that can be actively prevented, managed and reduced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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18 pages, 3940 KiB

Open AccessArticle

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

by Javier Blanco-Sacristán, Emilio Guirado, José Luis Molina-Pardo, Javier Cabello, Esther Giménez-Luque and Domingo Alcaraz-Segura

Fire 2023, 6(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6010004 - 22 Dec 2022

Viewed by 2017

Abstract

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. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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15 pages, 1582 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mid-Term Changes in Soil Properties after Wildfire, Straw Mulching and Salvage Logging in Pinus halepensis Mill. Forests

by Mehdi Navidi, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja, Pedro Antonio Plaza-Álvarez, Bruno Gianmarco Carra, Misagh Parhizkar and Demetrio Antonio Zema

Fire 2022, 5(5), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5050158 - 01 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1953

Abstract

The hydrological effects of straw mulching and salvage logging have been widely experimented in the Mediterranean forests affected by wildfires. In contrast, knowledge about the impacts of these post-fire management techniques on the physico-chemical properties of burned soils is poor, especially many years after the fire. In particular, no studies have evaluated the soil changes after the combinations of soil mulching and salvage logging after wildfires in Mediterranean forests. To fill this gap, this study explores the effects of straw mulching and salvage logging, applied individually or in combination to a burnt forest of Pinus halepensis Mill. of central-eastern Spain, on the physico-chemical properties of soil six years after a wildfire. Both the post-fire techniques significantly altered the organic matter, phosphorous, and carbonate contents of the burned soils as well as their C/N (carbon/nitrogen) ratio, while the texture and other chemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, potassium, cations/anions, and active limestone) of the soils were not significantly affected by these post-fire treatments. Organic matter (OM) and phosphorous (P) contents increased by 57% and 69%, respectively, in mulched soils in comparison to the burned but untreated plots. In logged soils, the OM increased by 27%, while P decreased by 17%. Salvage logging after straw mulching increased OM, albeit less than under the individual soil treatments (+13%), but noticeably reduced P (−39%). The C/N ratio practically underwent the same variation (+15–20%) after the combination of the two treatments. The principal component analysis and the agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis applied to the soil properties measured in the plots under the individual and combined management show that the effects of salvage logging on soil properties appear to be more impactful compared to straw mulching. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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14 pages, 3850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Differential Post-Fire Recovery of Tree and Shrub Growth and Water-Use Efficiency in a Mediterranean Coastal Dune System

by Jesús Julio Camarero, Ricardo Díaz-Delgado, Michele Colangelo, Cristina Valeriano, Raúl Sánchez-Salguero and Javier Madrigal

Fire 2022, 5(5), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5050135 - 09 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1736

Abstract

Assessing post-fire recovery is essential to forecast how ecosystems will respond to future warmer conditions and higher fire severity. Such assessments must consider site conditions and the post-fire recovery of trees and shrubs. We used tree-ring data and intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi) to quantify the post-fire responses of a tree (Pinus pinea) and a shrub (Juniperus phoenicea) in Mediterranean coastal dunes located in the Doñana protected area, SW Spain. We compared pines and junipers growing in an inter-dune slack with those growing in a nearby dune ridge. We quantified crown damage and bark char in pines impacted by a wildfire. Pines with lower crown damage after the fire showed a higher growth rate one year later. Growth decreased afterwards in the case of fast-growing pines from the slack site, whereas slow-growing dune pines showed increasing growth rates one to three years after the fire. The fire did not change the pines’ WUEi, whereas the junipers located in dunes presented the highest WUEi values. Severe crown damage (damage > 60%) impairs long-term growth recovery in P. pinea. Open and heterogeneous landscapes can reduce the wildfire risk in the study Mediterranean area, where slack vs. dune and tree vs. shrub differences should be considered in post-fire management plans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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17 pages, 3884 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ambrosia Beetle Attacks in Mediterranean Cork Oak Forests Following Fire: Which Factors Drive Host Selection?

by Filipe X. Catry, Manuela Branco, Francisco Moreira, Edmundo Sousa and Francisco Rego

Fire 2022, 5(4), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5040115 - 12 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1971

Abstract

Mediterranean Basin forest ecosystems are recurrently affected by wildfires. The occurrence of insect pests following fire may be a critical factor affecting tree survival and forest recovery. Although ambrosia beetles are viewed with increasing concern, information about the host selection and colonization behavior of these beetles in Mediterranean broadleaf forests is very scarce and inexistent in areas affected by wildfires. After a forest fire in Portugal, we selected 841 burned and unburned cork oak trees and assessed the presence and intensity of ambrosia beetle attacks, as well as other tree characteristics, and used generalized linear models to investigate the factors driving host selection. In contrast with burned oaks, where beetle attacks were frequent, the unburned trees were little affected. Attacks in the burned forest were more frequent in larger trees that suffered higher fire severity, in trees being exploited for cork (but with thicker bark), and in trees that were closer to the unburned area. A contagious effect to neighboring unburned trees was not observed, and cork harvesting in subsequent years following fire also did not increase the probability of beetle attacks. These results help us to understand the risk of ambrosia beetle attacks and improve forest management in cork oak forests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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21 pages, 3049 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Wildfires and Harvesting Forest Disturbances and Recovery Using Landsat Time Series: A Case Study in Mediterranean Forests in Central Italy

by Carmelo Bonannella, Gherardo Chirici, Davide Travaglini, Matteo Pecchi, Elia Vangi, Giovanni D’Amico and Francesca Giannetti

Fire 2022, 5(3), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5030068 - 24 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3225

Abstract

Large-scale forest monitoring benefits greatly from change detection analysis based on remote sensing data because it enables characterizing forest dynamics of disturbance and recovery by detecting both gradual and abrupt changes on Earth’s surface. In this study, two of the main disturbances occurring in Mediterranean forests, harvesting operations and forest fires, were analyzed through the analysis of Landsat Times Series images in a case study in Central Italy (Tuscany region). Disturbances were characterized based on their distinct temporal behaviors before and after the event: a period of 20 years (1999–2018) was used to extract and analyze at pixel level spectral trajectories for each disturbance and produce descriptive temporal trends of the phenomena. Recovery metrics were used to characterize both short- (5 years) and long-term aspects of recovery for harvested and burned areas. Spectral, recovery, and trend analysis metrics were then used with the Random Forest classifier to differentiate between the two disturbance classes and to investigate their potential as predictors. Among spectral bands, the Landsat SWIR 1 band proved the best to detect areas interested by harvesting, while forest fires were better detected by the SWIR 2 band; among spectral indices, the NBR scored as the best for both classes. On average, harvested areas recovered faster in both short- and long-term aspects and showed less variability in the magnitude of the disturbance event and recovery rate over time. This tendency is confirmed by the results of the classifier, which obtained an overall accuracy of 98.6%, and identified the mean of the post-disturbance values of the trend as the best predictor to differentiate between disturbances. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mediterranean Fires)

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