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Forests
Special Issues
Post-Fire Recovery and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems
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Post-Fire Recovery and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Hazards and Risk Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 3248

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Emiliya Velizarova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ministry of Environment and Water, Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: drought stress; forest fire; response to fire impact

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the utmost importance of developing and implementing appropriate strategies for forest regeneration and recovery after fires via natural or assisted processes, we are pleased to invite you to submit your contributions to this Special Issue, ‘Post-Fire Recovery and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems’. This Special Issue aims to cover recent state-of-the-art research on burn severity, hydrological impacts, changes in plant and animal communities over time after forest fires, soil erosion, remote sensing, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity recovery, among others. High levels of biodiversity have been associated with complex early seral forests, called "snag forests", which are as biodiverse as old growth. A multitude of bird and insect species require high-severity burn patches of snag forests recovered from the green forests during a severe fire event. In this regard, this Special Issue also intends to cover biodiversity dependence on severely burned areas: What species depend on them, in what regions, and in what patch sizes and frequencies? This Special Issue intends to publish original research articles and medium-sized review papers related to novel developments or achievements in this field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: the loss of topsoil due to weakened vegetation cover, the use of satellite images and drones to assess burn severity and monitor vegetation recovery, the restoration of ecological functions in burned areas, etc. We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Dr. Emiliya Velizarova
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Forests 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 2600 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.

Keywords

  • burn severity
  • soil erosion
  • ash deposition
  • hydrological impact
  • carbon sequestration
  • resilience and vegetation regrowth
  • reforestation
  • succession and biodiversity recovery
  • biodiversity recovery of snag forests
  • remote sensing
  • long-term monitoring

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 12745 KB  
Article
Improving SAR-Based Burn Severity Assessment with Consideration of Non-Uniform Scattering Medium in Fire-Affected Areas
by Yaoqiang Zeng, Zhong Zheng and Yangyang Zhang
Forests 2026, 17(2), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17020243 - 12 Feb 2026
Viewed by 492
Abstract
Traditional burn severity assessment methods have predominantly leveraged optical remote sensing data, yet such methods often overlook critical vegetation structural information inherent to post-fire ecosystems. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data offer structural information but are hindered by non-uniform scattering in fire-affected areas, limiting [...] Read more.
Traditional burn severity assessment methods have predominantly leveraged optical remote sensing data, yet such methods often overlook critical vegetation structural information inherent to post-fire ecosystems. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data offer structural information but are hindered by non-uniform scattering in fire-affected areas, limiting the utility of conventional decomposition techniques. Here, we introduced a metric that quantifies scattering non-uniformity by jointly considering canopy burn and ground condition non-uniformity. From this metric, we derived quantitative polarimetric features that enhance SAR-based severity estimation and demonstrated the potential to assess burn severity, with an R of 0.77 and a RMSE of 0.58. Initially, six decomposition features were extracted with the covariance matrix and then 14 feature groups were formed through metric and combination. Subsequently, sensitivity analyses were conducted for the first nine feature groups with the Composite Burn Index (CBI) values. Following this, the 14 feature groups were employed as inputs and the CBI values as outputs for random forest learning at a 7:3 training ratio to assess burn severity and generate burn severity maps. This study used the Jinyun Mountain fire in Chongqing as the primary case and eight fires in the United States as supplemental data to discuss the general applicability of the quantitative polarimetric features in assessing burn severity. Notably, the developed methodology showcased superior results within all wildfires, offering a new outlook for future burn severity assessments utilizing vegetation structure information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Fire Recovery and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems)
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14 pages, 1976 KB  
Article
Influence of Pine, Birch, and Alder Tree Stands on Soil Properties, Organic Matter Recovery and C:N:P Stoichiometry After Fire Disturbance: A Case Study in a Temperate Forest
by Bartłomiej Woś, Justyna Likus-Cieślik, Magdalena Kopeć, Agnieszka Józefowska and Marcin Pietrzykowski
Forests 2025, 16(12), 1825; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16121825 - 5 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 568
Abstract
The intensity of wildfires is projected to increase with the rising frequency of droughts due to climate change. Management practices following forest fires must include restoring the appropriate species composition. This study was performed within the wider context of the regeneration of soil [...] Read more.
The intensity of wildfires is projected to increase with the rising frequency of droughts due to climate change. Management practices following forest fires must include restoring the appropriate species composition. This study was performed within the wider context of the regeneration of soil properties, including the stock and soil organic matter (SOM) content, at the largest forest fire site in Poland (more than 9000 ha) in the Rudziniec Forest District, Upper Silesia. Research plots were established on sandy soils (Podzols and Arenosols) in pure stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), common birch (Betula pendula Roth), and black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.). The organic and mineral soil horizons were sampled from each research plot and control plots unaffected by the fire. The trees’ foliage was also sampled to determine the nutrient supply. Basic soil properties were determined, including the texture, pH, bulk density, organic carbon (C), macronutrient contents, soil microbial biomass, and labile C and nitrogen (N) fractions. We found that, 30 years after the fire, the post-fire soils had similar SOC stocks (34.80 Mg ha−1) to the control plots (31.72 Mg ha−1); however, they differed in their stocks of labile C and N fractions. The post-fire soils had a less stable C pool due to a higher stock of the fraction associated with particulate organic matter. In contrast, the N pool was more stable in the post-fire soils than in the control soils due to a lower contribution of the most labile fractions. The soils under Scots pine had the least stable SOM, which may have influenced the intensification of the podzolization process, whereas the highest biomass of soil microorganisms was observed under common birch. The soils under black alder had the highest acidity and lowest phosphorus (P) content. The C:N:P ratios in the post-fire soils and tree foliage indicated that P may have been the limiting factor in alder growth, and N for pine and birch. Our findings indicate that tree species composition is an important factor in the recovery of post-fire soil properties. However, the introduction of pure black alder stands to post-fire soils with low moisture and P availability showed little effectiveness in restoring the SOM content and N pool. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Fire Recovery and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems)
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11 pages, 5828 KB  
Article
Challenges in Young Siberian Forest Height Estimation from Winter TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X PolInSAR Observations
by Tumen Chimitdorzhiev, Irina Kirbizhekova and Aleksey Dmitriev
Forests 2025, 16(12), 1815; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16121815 - 4 Dec 2025
Viewed by 434
Abstract
Accurate estimation of young forest height is essential for assessing the carbon sequestration potential of vast Siberian boreal forests recovering from wildfires. Satellite radar interferometry, particularly PolInSAR, is a promising tool for this task. However, its application in winter conditions and over sparse [...] Read more.
Accurate estimation of young forest height is essential for assessing the carbon sequestration potential of vast Siberian boreal forests recovering from wildfires. Satellite radar interferometry, particularly PolInSAR, is a promising tool for this task. However, its application in winter conditions and over sparse young forests remains underexplored. This study proposes a novel method for estimating the height of sparse young pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands using fully polarimetric bistatic TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X data acquired in winter. The method is based on an analysis of the multimodal distribution of the unwrapped interferometric phase of the surface scattering component, which was isolated via PolInSAR decomposition. We hypothesize that the phase centers correspond to the snow-covered ground (located between tree groups) and the rough surface formed by the upper layer of branches and needles (of the tree groups). The results demonstrate that the difference between the dominant modes of the surface scattering phase distribution correlates with the height of young trees. However, the measurable height difference is limited by the interferometric height of ambiguity. Furthermore, a temporal analysis of the phase and meteorological data revealed a strong correlation between sudden phase shifts and daytime temperature rises around 0 °C. This is interpreted as the formation of a layered snowpack structure with a dense ice crust. This study confirms the potential of X-band PolInSAR for monitoring the structure of young Siberian forests in winter but also highlights a significant limitation: the critical impact of snowpack metamorphism, particularly melt-freeze cycles, on the interferometric phase. The proposed method is only applicable to certain forest regeneration stages where tree height does not exceed the ambiguity limit and snow conditions are stable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Fire Recovery and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems)
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19 pages, 1994 KB  
Article
Comparison of Plantation Arrangements and Naturally Regenerating Mixed-Conifer Stands After a High-Severity Fire in the Sierra Nevada
by Iris Allen, Sophan Chhin, Jianwei Zhang and Michael Premer
Forests 2025, 16(10), 1506; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16101506 - 23 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1123
Abstract
A sharp escalation in wildfire frequency, severity, and scale in the western United States calls for the creation of forests that are resilient in the future. One reforestation method involves clustering trees into groups of two to four, instead of creating evenly spaced [...] Read more.
A sharp escalation in wildfire frequency, severity, and scale in the western United States calls for the creation of forests that are resilient in the future. One reforestation method involves clustering trees into groups of two to four, instead of creating evenly spaced plantations, in an effort to increase structural heterogeneity and emulate natural regeneration patterns. There have been a limited number of studies on clustered plantations, and this study addresses this important research gap. In Eldorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevada, we compared growth and structure in several post-fire plantations, treated with and without pre-commercial thinning (PCT), and naturally regenerating stands. Using mixed-effects models, we tested for growth and structural differences between evenly spaced and clustered plantations, as well as comparing them to stands of naturally regenerating trees. Our results indicated that diameter and height growth were generally better maintained in the plantations compared to under natural stand conditions. When considering plantation arrangement, the annual basal area increment (BAI) thinning index ([BAI after thinning − BAI before thinning]/BAI before thinning) was generally higher in evenly spaced plantations (1.03) compared to clustered plantations (0.79). While high plant diversity would be important eventually from an ecological perspective, our study suggests that during the initial phases of plantation development, lower shrub diversity could assist with plantation establishment and growth. The frequency of yellow pines was an important, positively associated factor affecting BAI and height growth, but primarily in the high-elevation region, which demonstrates a facilitative legacy effect of prior stand composition. Our study highlighted the important legacy effect of prior stand density on the growth of yellow pines, but primarily in the low-elevation region, and only when the two plantation groups were examined. The negative association suggests that a lower initial density of plantations promotes better BAI growth and height growth after PCT. These findings thus have broad implications for effective post-fire restoration of young plantations to help ensure their future resilience to both post-fire restoration and climate change adaptation and biotic (i.e., plant competition) stress factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Fire Recovery and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems)
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