Monitor Post-Fire Vegetation Dynamics in Forest Ecosystems at Monte Morrone (Abruzzo, Italy)

Wildfires represent major disturbance in forest ecosystems and are recently increasing under climate change, regulating the carbon balance in terms of release of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and changes in growing stock volume. Satellite earth observation has been demonstrated to be an effective tool to characterize pre-fire conditions, quantify fire severity, and monitor post-fire dynamics. Primary damage due to wildfires on forest ecosystem can be estimated using fire severity as a proxy, based on differences in spectral and biophysical indices estimated from pre-fire and post-fire satellite acquisitions. Secondary damage due to wildfires may lead to forest dieback, that is the decline in vitality of a forest ecosystem. Medium and long-term time series of satellite-derived thematic information for the monitoring of post-fire conditions and trends can support the identification of forest dieback, besides the well-known monitoring of the recovery of natural ecosystems.