Using satellite and field data, the SeverusPT project aims to provide, in a periodic and timely manner, relevant information on the evaluation and prediction of fire severity. By including national entities engaged in fire management, planning and land management, Earth Observation and the general public, the project aims to monitor, protect and support ecosystem restoration.

Context: despite increasing investments in fire suppression, extreme fire events have become more frequent in Mediterranean Europe, including mainland Portugal. The SeverusPT project addresses this challenge by developing a comprehensive framework for assessing, mapping, and predicting fire severity using satellite-derived indicators of ecosystem functioning related to carbon, water, and energy balance.

• Develop a spatially explicit framework to assess, map, and predict fire severity

• Deliver a co-designed product/service that enhances institutional and operational capacity for fire hazard management and post-fire restoration

• Foster collaboration with key stakeholders for long-term sustainability and continuous improvement of the product/service

• Contribute to advancing the state-of-the-art in fire severity mapping and modelling and understanding its driving factors and links to fire hazard management

• Robust framework: The project implements a spatially explicit framework that assesses, maps, and predicts burn severity, considering the effects of fires on ecosystems under a changing climate

• Satellite data analysis: Spectral and ecosystem functioning indicators extracted from satellite remote sensing time series are leveraged to assess fire severity and provide detailed characterizations on a large scale

• Web-based services: A user-friendly web service is being developed to provide continuous and standardized fire severity products, facilitating preventive fire risk management, monitoring, and post-fire restoration efforts

PI: João Honrado (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO/InBIO - University of Porto)
Co-PI: João Gonçalves (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO/InBIO - University of Porto)

Team members

Ana Paula Portela (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO/InBIO - University of Porto)
Adrián Regos (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO/InBIO - University of Porto)
Adrián Cardil (Tecnosylva S.L.)
Bruno Marcos (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO/InBIO - University of Porto)
Cristiana Alves (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO/InBIO - University of Porto)
Diogo Mota (ESA/IPVC - Polythecnic Institute Of Viana do Castelo)
Domingo Alcaraz (U. Granada)
Joaquim Alonso (ESA/IPVC - Polythecnic Institute Of Viana do Castelo)
Pedro Castro (ESA/IPVC - Polythecnic Institute Of Viana do Castelo)
Salvador Arenas Castro (U. Cordoba)

Contributors/students

Daniel Sabucedo (U. Vigo, BSc internship student/Erasmus)
Duarte Velho (ESA/IPVC - Polythecnic Institute Of Viana do Castelo, MSc student)
Letícia Pedreira (ESA/IPVC - Polythecnic Institute Of Viana do Castelo, CTeSP internship student)
Silvana Pais (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO/InBIO - University of Porto, PhD student)
Susana Pereira (ESA/IPVC - Polythecnic Institute Of Viana do Castelo, BSc internship student)