Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western Mexico
There is a need to evaluate Sentinel-2 (S2) fire severity spectral indices (SFSIs) for predicting vegetation and soil burn severity for a variety of ecosystems. We evaluated the performance of 26 SFSIs across three fires in seasonally dry oak–pine forests in central-western Mexico. The SFSIs were de...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Oscar Enrique Balcázar Medina Enrique J. Jardel Peláez Daniel José Vega-Nieva Adrián Israel Silva-Cardoza Ramón Cuevas Guzmán |
| author_facet | Oscar Enrique Balcázar Medina Enrique J. Jardel Peláez Daniel José Vega-Nieva Adrián Israel Silva-Cardoza Ramón Cuevas Guzmán |
| author_sort | Oscar Enrique Balcázar Medina |
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| description | There is a need to evaluate Sentinel-2 (S2) fire severity spectral indices (SFSIs) for predicting vegetation and soil burn severity for a variety of ecosystems. We evaluated the performance of 26 SFSIs across three fires in seasonally dry oak–pine forests in central-western Mexico. The SFSIs were derived from composites of S2 multispectral images obtained with Google Earth Engine (GEE), processed using different techniques, for periods of 30, 60 and 90 days. Field verification was conducted through stratified random sampling by severity class on 100 circular plots of 707 m<sup>2</sup>, where immediate post-fire effects were evaluated for five strata, including the canopy scorch in overstory (OCS)—divided in canopy (CCS) and subcanopy (SCS)—understory (UCS) and soil burn severity (SBS). Best fits were obtained with relative, phenologically corrected indices of 60–90 days. For canopy scorch percentage prediction, the indices RBR3c and RBR5n, using NIR (bands 8 and 8a) and SWIR (band 12), provided the best accuracy (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.82). SBS could be best mapped from RBR1c (using 11 and 12 bands) with relatively acceptable precision (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.62). Our results support the feasibility to separately map OCS and SBS from S2, in relatively open oak–pine seasonally dry forests, potentially supporting post-fire management planning. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0e62e2569bbe4b76906675fdc55172bf |
| institution | OA Journals |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-0e62e2569bbe4b76906675fdc55172bf2025-08-20T02:36:27ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-07-011713230710.3390/rs17132307Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western MexicoOscar Enrique Balcázar Medina0Enrique J. Jardel Peláez1Daniel José Vega-Nieva2Adrián Israel Silva-Cardoza3Ramón Cuevas Guzmán4Doctorado en Ciencias en Biosistemática, Ecología y Manejo de Recursos Naturales y Agrícolas, Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Av. Independencia Nacional 151, Colonia Centro, Autlán de la Grana 48900, MexicoDepartamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Av. Independencia Nacional 151, Colonia Centro, Autlán de la Grana 48900, MexicoFacultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Río Papaloapan y Blvd. Durango S/N Col. Valle del Sur, Durango 34120, MexicoCentro de Investigación en Ciencias de Información Geoespacial, A.C., C. Contoy 137, Lomas de Padierna, Tlalpan, Mexico City 14240, MexicoDepartamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Av. Independencia Nacional 151, Colonia Centro, Autlán de la Grana 48900, MexicoThere is a need to evaluate Sentinel-2 (S2) fire severity spectral indices (SFSIs) for predicting vegetation and soil burn severity for a variety of ecosystems. We evaluated the performance of 26 SFSIs across three fires in seasonally dry oak–pine forests in central-western Mexico. The SFSIs were derived from composites of S2 multispectral images obtained with Google Earth Engine (GEE), processed using different techniques, for periods of 30, 60 and 90 days. Field verification was conducted through stratified random sampling by severity class on 100 circular plots of 707 m<sup>2</sup>, where immediate post-fire effects were evaluated for five strata, including the canopy scorch in overstory (OCS)—divided in canopy (CCS) and subcanopy (SCS)—understory (UCS) and soil burn severity (SBS). Best fits were obtained with relative, phenologically corrected indices of 60–90 days. For canopy scorch percentage prediction, the indices RBR3c and RBR5n, using NIR (bands 8 and 8a) and SWIR (band 12), provided the best accuracy (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.82). SBS could be best mapped from RBR1c (using 11 and 12 bands) with relatively acceptable precision (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.62). Our results support the feasibility to separately map OCS and SBS from S2, in relatively open oak–pine seasonally dry forests, potentially supporting post-fire management planning.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2307fire severitywildfire effects monitoringinitial assessmentSentinel 2Google Earth Engineimage composites |
| spellingShingle | Oscar Enrique Balcázar Medina Enrique J. Jardel Peláez Daniel José Vega-Nieva Adrián Israel Silva-Cardoza Ramón Cuevas Guzmán Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western Mexico Remote Sensing fire severity wildfire effects monitoring initial assessment Sentinel 2 Google Earth Engine image composites |
| title | Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western Mexico |
| title_full | Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western Mexico |
| title_fullStr | Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western Mexico |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western Mexico |
| title_short | Mapping Soil Burn Severity and Crown Scorch Percentage with Sentinel-2 in Seasonally Dry Deciduous Oak and Pine Forests in Western Mexico |
| title_sort | mapping soil burn severity and crown scorch percentage with sentinel 2 in seasonally dry deciduous oak and pine forests in western mexico |
| topic | fire severity wildfire effects monitoring initial assessment Sentinel 2 Google Earth Engine image composites |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2307 |
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