CASE STUDY

    SECTOR

    Natural Resources and Environment, Public Safety and Security

    Satellite view

    Source: Rewilding Europe

    postwildfire-landscape-impact-assessment-and-recovery-monitoring-in-serra-da-estrela-national-park-portugal

    image

    Source: Rewilding Europe

    Project Details

    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.



    Solutions
    Product Used

    Value Propositions

    Return on Investment (RoI)
    Geo_icon
    GeographyEurope

    Location_icon
    CountryPortugal

    Project_owner
    Project Owner

    Direção Geral do Território


    Project_stakeholder_icon
    Project/Technology Stakeholder

    European Environment Agency; Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS)



    Technology Used
    Sector Focus
    SDGs
    Recognition/ Awards

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