CASE STUDY
SECTOR
Natural Resources and Environment, Public Safety and Security
Source: Rewilding Europe
postwildfire-landscape-impact-assessment-and-recovery-monitoring-in-serra-da-estrela-national-park-portugal
Source: Rewilding Europe
In August 2022, Portugal experienced its largest wildfire in over 50 years, devastating 25,000 hectares of the Serra da Estrela National Park. Following the blaze, heavy rains caused severe floods, amplifying environmental, infrastructural, and ecological damage. The Directorate General for the Territory provided highly detailed land use and land cover data through the Copernicus Framework Licence agreement, enabling integration with geological datasets, Digital Terrain Model (DTM), Digital Surface Model (DSM), and field data. This integrated geospatial dataset supported comprehensive impact assessment, including vegetation recovery monitoring, road accessibility evaluation, and erosion risk mapping. Using satellite image time-series analysis, authorities compared pre- and post-fire conditions, revealing that over 50% of agricultural areas had recovered or were in recovery by March 2023. Road access assessment indicated that just over half of the network remained easily accessible, with 40% showing partial difficulty and 7.5% considered difficult. The soil erosion risk analysis was modelled for three scenarios: immediate post-fire, post-recovery interventions, and long-term conditions—demonstrating the effectiveness of mitigation measures such as tree planting and burnt vegetation removal.
Direção Geral do Território
European Environment Agency; Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS)
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