UAVs Technology as a Complementary Tool in Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery Surveys in Mediterranean Fire-Prone Forests

Abstract

Forest fire is a recurring and serious environmental hazard, which is often due to the interaction between anthropogenic activities and climate change, despite having always characterized the vegetation landscape in the Mediterranean area. Alongside the required prevention and control works, there is an increasing need for post-fire monitoring. This is particularly relevant when it comes to natural or semi-natural forests, so that inappropriate reforestation is not undertaken without having well understood the dynamics of self-regeneration and the resilience of pre-existing phytocoenoses to fire. These monitoring operations often take a long time, but a quick picture of the severity of the fire and the response of the vegetation is also required. In this context, the data relating to post-fire surveys on a maritime pine forest of Monte Pisano (northern Tuscany, Italy), obtained from ground surveys and drone shots, are reported. This investigation showed: (1) UAV technology has proved to be very useful and fast, and it allows a good identification of tree/shrub species and forest structural parameters. (2) In these forests, repeated fires cause the disappearance of pine woods ad substitution with “pyroclimax” cork oak communities in equilibrium with a regime of repeated fires. (3) These first results, part of an ongoing investigation, contribute to a better understanding of the sylvogenetic processes following the passage of fire and can support the management of burned areas.