Vegetation regeneration dynamics of a natural mediterranean ecosystem following a wildfire exploiting the LANDSAT archive, google earth engine and geospatial analysis techniques

This study employs freely available satellite data from the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform and geospatial analysis techniques to assess vegetation recovery dynamics in a Mediterranean ecosystem, focusing on northeastern Attica, Greece, impacted by a wildfire in August 2009. The investigation delves into the relationships between regrowth dynamics, burn severity, and topographical characteristics. Leveraging anniversary Landsat TM and OLI images from 2009 to 2020, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Regeneration Index (RI) are utilized to evaluate vegetation recovery. The results reveal initial signs of vegetation recovery two years post-wildfire, with significant progress observed eleven years later. Noteworthy is the adaptability of vegetation types like scrubs, herbaceous cover, woodlands, and agricultural lands to fire, as highlighted by the RI results, complementing the observed NDVI trends. Forested areas exhibit gradual regrowth, with lower NDVI levels compared to unburned forested regions. The study further identifies varying regeneration rates on different aspects, with north-facing exposures demonstrating higher regeneration rates than south-facing ones. The utility of NDVI and RI in post-fire regeneration assessment, particularly in the Mediterranean region, is underscored. The study stands out for integrating both regeneration methods in a single investigation and emphasizes the effectiveness of satellite data, GEE platform integration, and geospatial analysis in accurately mapping vegetation regeneration dynamics post-wildfires.