A Geospatial Approach to Identify and Evaluate Ecological Restoration Sites in Post-Fire Landscapes

Abstract

Wildfires are a pervasive natural phenomenon in Mediterranean forest ecosystems, causing significant ecological imbalances that demand immediate restoration efforts. The intricacy of reinstating the ecological balance necessitates a proactive approach to identifying and assessing suitable restoration sites. The assessment and investigation of the most suitable restoration sites is of particular importance both for the relevant authorities and for planning and decision making by the state. This study proposes the development of a user-friendly model for evaluating and identifying the most suitable restoration sites immediately after a fire, using geoinformation technologies. For the purposes of demonstrating the method’s applicability, the 2016 fire of “Prinos”, Thasos, Greece, an area that has been repeatedly affected by forest fires, was chosen as a case study. The methodology evaluation was carried out by applying the weighted multicriteria decision analysis method (MCDAM) and was based on a number of variables. The analysis, processing and extraction of the results were performed using primarily remote sensing datasets in a geographical information system (GIS) environment. The methodology proposed herein includes the classification of the individual criteria and their synthesis based on different weighting factors. In the final results, the restoration suitability maps are presented in five suitability zones based on two different scenarios. Based on this study, the integration of geospatial and remote sensing data offers a valuable and cost-effective means for promptly assessing post-fire landscapes, with the aim of identifying suitable restoration sites.