Environmental monitoring supported by aerial and field survey - A case study on the wildfire near Bugac
During the severe wildfire, of 29 April 2012 near Bugac (Kiskunság National Park, Hungary), a protected natural area – the so called “Ősborókás” – partly burnt down.
The aim of this research is to support the National Park to efficiently and accurately assess the damage and to plan and execute the restoration work using remote sensing tools.
To ensure the early status registration, 1 month after the fire (7 June 2012) the first aerial data collection was performed. To monitor the regeneration of the vegetation, 1 year later (1 July 2013) a second flight campaign was carried out. On 9 April 2014 we surveyed and mapped the vegetation in the field.
Using the aerial photographs and the field data, the degree and extent of the fire damages, the types and the state of the vegetation and the presence and proportion of the invasive species were determined. The remote sensing data were classified with semi-automatic methods, which identified ca. 50% of the area as completely, 30-35% as partially damaged and 15-20% as undamaged.
Based on the field experiences, it is highly required to reforest the burnt area, to prevent the overspreading of white poplar against common junipers and to clean the area from the most frequent invasive species.
To monitor the regeneration of the vegetation and the spreading of the unwanted species, we are planning further flight and field campaigns. In this way the revival of this valuable part of the National Park will continuously be supported.