Advancing forest fire burn severity and vegetation recovery assessments using remote sensing and machine learning approaches

Two decades of forest understory vegetation development in a 445-year chronosequence in the Siskiyou mountains of southwestern Oregon, USA

ABSTRACT Wildfires have significant global effects, especially in fire-prone regions where plants have evolved traits like resprouting and seeding to survive. This study examines forest resilience and burn severity in El Tarf Province, northeastern Algeria, under Mediterranean conditions, with three hypotheses: (i) varying impacts of fire across forest types, (ii) post-fire shifts – especially in pine plantations and areas invaded by Acacia and Eucalyptus – negatively affect resilience, and (iii) natural forests show different resilience levels. Using the normalized burn ratio (dNBR) and vegetation index (dNDVI) with Landsat-8 and Landsat-9 data (2022–2023), we evaluated burn severity and recovery across forest types. Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) shrubland experienced the most extensive burning, while Acacia-invaded Cork oak and Eucalyptus forests showed the highest resilience. Pine forests, however, had the lowest resilience. Overall, burn severity was moderate to high, with resilience patterns confirmed by dNBRr and dNDVIr indices, aligning with ground observations. The 2022 fire was among the most severe in El Tarf’s history, underscoring the influence of recent forest composition changes and invasive species like Acacia on the stability and recovery of these Mediterranean ecosystems.

In studying the sensitivity analysis of mangrove forest relative abundance due to anthropogenic activities using numerical computational approach. for a time, interval of 0(10)120months using Matlab ODE45 numerical scheme, three different mangrove sites which are N21, N22 and N23 in the Niger delta and considered as natural mangrove forest vegetation sites in the absence of artisanal hydrocarbon whereas N1, N2 and N3 were considered as present of artisanal hydrocarbon. the numerical simulated data base shows that on the based day of our experimental time here called the initial condition, the relative abundance of the first site N1 was recorded as 0.01 units whereas sites N2 and N3 records 0.01units same values each as well. Furthermore, from the tenth (10th) month up to the one hundred and twentieth (120th) months, the data base result shows a monotonic decreasing pattern in the relative abundance in the coordinates of N1, N2 and N3 upto ecological extinction on the 20th month for the N1 coordinates as follows by N2 and N3 on the 30th month and then a fluctuating pattern with degenerate coordinates on all the coordinates N1, N2 and N3. These observations shows that the N1 coordinates went into an early ecological extinction follows by N1 and N3 and then further fluctuation to degeneracy. The novel result is presented and discussed as well.

The objective of this study was to determine the structure and composition of natural forest vegetation following post-flood conditions in Kamarian Village, Kairatu District, West Seram Regency. Vegetation analysis was employed by collecting data on species types, number, diameter, and tree height. The data collection method in this study utilized the continuous strip sampling method and line plot sampling method with 100% intensity. The research area covered 3 hectares (30,000 m²) consisting of a transect length of 500 meters and an observation strip width of 20 meters. The results showed that the vegetation structure in the post-flood area consisted of four strata: Stratum A (tall trees), Stratum B (medium trees), Stratum C (lower trees), Stratum D (shrubs and ferns), and Stratum E (ground cover layer). The dominant species in each stratum varied; however, they were generally dominated by Pulai (Alstonia scholaris), Pulaka (Octomeles sumatrana), and Salam (Syzygium polyanthum). The vegetation composition in the post-flood area indicated moderate species diversity, with the dominance of several species showing adaptive value. The Importance Value Index (IVI) at each growth stage (trees, poles, saplings, and seedlings) demonstrated that Pulai, Pulaka, and Salam play a very important role in the plant community at the research location.

Effects of seasonal prescribed burns on understory vegetation in a Mediterranean mixed pine forest

Soil and litter emission sources as important contributors to ozone production from volatile organic compounds in island tropical forests.

Forests’ dynamics have become increasingly complex under climate change and human activities. Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), with extensive forest cover and a mosaic of protected and non-protected areas, is an ideal region for examining forest responses to climate and anthropogenic activities. To ensure robust long-term monitoring, we retrieved EVI2 from daily AVHRR and MODIS surface reflectance data and performed pixel-wise assimilation of the two datasets, substantially reducing systematic bias and constructing a consistent 1982–2024 annual EVI2 dataset. Using this harmonized dataset, along with land use, climate, and protected area data, we analyzed over four decades of forest greenness trends, variability, and drivers in protected and non-protected zones. Results show that forests in MSEA maintained high coverage (mean EVI2 = 0.6253) and exhibited a clear greening trend (+0.014 per decade). Temperature was the dominant driver, contributing over 50% of the variation, followed by human activities (>30%), while precipitation played a smaller and mixed role. Forests in protected areas were 1.3 times more stable than those outside (CV = 4.1% vs. 5.2%), highlighting the buffering role of protection. These findings provide a reliable long-term benchmark for forest monitoring and inform targeted conservation and sustainable management strategies in MSEA. The constructed assimilated long-term EVI2 dataset is available to support future research on vegetation dynamics, climate impacts, and ecosystem sustainability.

During the age of above-ground nuclear weapons testing, the effect of vegetation on radiation energy deposition in soil was computationally too challenging to study. Today, improvements in high-performance computing, mature and accurate radiation transport models, and user-friendly optimization and statistical analysis software packages enable investigations into modeling and quantifying the impact of forest vegetation on the prompt gamma-ray energy deposition within the soil from an atmospheric nuclear weapon detonation. Our approach simulates radiation transport, amasses results, and statistically analyzes the results using CUBIT ® , Dakota, and MCNP ® to perform meshing, geometry creation, and radiation transport. Depending on the forest parameters, there is 0.16% --1.3% change in photon energy deposition in the soil. This research successfully demonstrates a methodology for streamlining a complex radiation modeling effort across multiple codes to quantify and answer a nuclear weapons effects question.

Overcoming barriers to invasive grasses: strategies for restoring native vegetation in the Atlantic forest with direct seeding.

Peat swamp forests in South Sumatra play a vital role in climate change mitigation through carbon storage and hydrological regulation. However, anthropogenic pressures such as illegal logging, land conversion, and recurring fires have led to severe ecosystem degradation, including within the Padang Sugihan Wildlife Reserve, which covers approximately 86,932 hectares. This reserve serves as a critical habitat for endemic flora and fauna but has experienced a decline in forest cover and ecological functions, ultimately affecting its carbon storage capacity. This study aimed to estimate vegetation density and carbon stock through a combination of field observations, spatial analysis (land cover change, NDVI, and carbon stock), and allometric approaches. Eight plots measuring 20×20 m were established based on the 2024 land cover map, representing similar secondary forest vegetation structures. The analysis followed SNI 7724:2011 standards for carbon stock measurement and calculation. The results revealed significant land cover changes between 2020 and 2024, including a reduction in secondary peat swamp forest and an increase in open areas, plantations, and water bodies. NDVI values and allometric measurements indicated spatial variations reflecting vegetation growth dynamics and carbon absorption potential. Plot 8 and Locus 4 recorded the highest carbon accumulation, at 1.602 and 10.63 tons CO₂e ha⁻¹, respectively, influenced by the dominance of Mahang species (Lauraceae family), vegetation density, and stand age. These findings highlight the critical role of secondary peat swamp forests in maintaining carbon balance and supporting peatland ecosystem restoration at the landscape level. The results also provide scientific evidence for developing sustainable management and conservation strategies for the Padang Sugihan Wildlife Reserve.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Cerrado poses a significant threat to biodiversity. Municipalities in the MATOPIBA region of the state of Maranhão have experienced intense environmental changes resulting from the expansion of agricultural activities. This underscores the importance of local-scale studies to identify these geographic transformations. This article analyzes changes in land use and land cover in the municipality of Timbiras between 1985 and 2023, focusing on shifts in forest vegetation, agricultural areas, urban expansion, and water bodies. Data from the MapBiomas platform (Collection 9) were processed using QGIS software and organized into graphic and tabular formats for spatio-temporal analysis. The results indicated an expansion of agricultural areas, particularly pastures, which increased by 2,559.31% during the study period. There was also a reduction of over twenty thousand hectares of forest formations. Urban sprawl and a decrease in water bodies were also observed. Deforestation was strongly driven by the expansion of agricultural land in the municipality. The loss of native vegetation, urban growth, and shrinking water bodies reveal a continuous process of natural landscape transformation. Thus, municipal-scale studies are essential for understanding territorial dynamics and supporting public policies aimed at sustainable land use and environmental conservation.

Forests are ecologically complex, and trees play a structural and functional role in ecosystem dynamics. Tree height–DBH (diameter at breast height) relationships serve as a key indicator of forest productivity, competition, and succession, fundamental to sustainable forest management. This study develops height–DBH models for eight ecologically important tree species in boreal and mixed forests by applying nonlinear mixed-effects modelling approach to improve the predictive accuracy of height estimations. We evaluate height–DBH functions, including the two-parameter power function and Chapman–Richards function, incorporating stand-level variables—stand height based on dominant or co-dominant trees (SHT), basal area (BAH), and tree density (TPH) to refine predictions. Results indicate that mixed-effects models significantly improved model performance, with M4 (Chapman–Richards with mixed-effects) and M5 (Chapman–Richards function with mixed-effects and stand-level variables)–showing lowest AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) across species. Incorporating stand-level variables significantly enhanced performance, though improvements varied by species. The high accuracy of model M5 was further confirmed by validation process. Among stand-level variables, SHT contributed the most to height predictions (25.3 – 53.0%), while BAH (≤ 0.36%) and TPH (≤ 0.01%) had negligible effects. Still M4 can be a reliable alternative when stand-level variables are unavailable. This study highlights the effectiveness of a mixed-effects modelling framework complemented by stand-level variables in improving tree height estimation. Our research improves decision-making in growth and yield estimations of mixed stands and enhances the reliability of forest vegetation simulator outputs, thereby supporting ecological integrity.

Net Primary Productivity (NPP) serves as a key indicator of ecosystem health and productivity. However, most existing research focuses on primary land cover types, overlooking the dynamic response processes of NPP in refined vegetation types to multiple climate drivers. Furthermore, it lacks systematic analysis of the feedback mechanisms through which China’s Five-Year Plan (FYP) ecological projects regulate climate stress. This study, based on refined vegetation classification, systematically analyzes the dynamic changes in NPP in Heilongjiang Province from the 10th to the 13th FYP periods (2001–2020), with a focus on refined vegetation types. Results show that between 2001 and 2020, mixed-leaved forest emerged as the core driver of regional NPP change during the 12th FYP (NPP increase of +58.4 gC·m−2·a−1). Although deciduous needle-leaved forest (DNF) showed the highest cumulative increase (+64 gC·m−2·a−1), it experienced significant degradation (p < 0.01) in 57%–62% of its area during the 12th and 13th FYP periods. The dominant climate driver shifted from precipitation (positively correlated in 74% of the area during the 10th–11th FYPs) to drought stress dominated by vapor pressure deficit (VPD) (positive correlation increasing to 54%). Ecological projects mitigated the negative impact of temperature, reducing the area with negative correlations by 13%. Overall, the ecological policies of the FYP exerted a weak negative influence. However, forest vegetation was strongly regulated by VPD (SV = −0.61~0.59), while grasslands and croplands exhibited high sensitivity to temperature. These findings underscore the contrasting climate policy responses among plant functional groups, highlighting the urgent need for differentiated ecological management strategies.

The results of the forest management study in accordance with the forest management instruction approved by the Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation «On approval of forest management Instruction» dated 29.03.2018 № 122 (registration with the Ministry of Justice dated 20.04.2018 No. 50859) are considered. Based on the results of the study of the taxation characteristics of the design object, an analysis of reproduction, improvement of the species composition and quality of forests, increase in their productivity, and design of measures for the protection, protection, and reproduction of forests are provided. A forest, as a collection of forest vegetation, land, wildlife, and other environmental components, has important ecological, economic, and social significance. In order to use forests in the interests of humans without harming the environment, it is necessary to make an inventory of them and organize forestry in them. Forest management is a system of measures to ensure the rational use of the forest fund and improve the efficiency of forest management. Purposes. The design of operational forests, protective forests, reserve forests, as well as specially protected forest areas is carried out in order to subdivide forests into types for their intended purpose and allocate specially protected forest areas in these forests. Methodologies. In the process of researching the design problem, the method of age classes, the method based on the formation of economic sections, and the precinct method were used. Results. The block of these quarters is characterized by an uneven distribution of plant areas by age classes, overgrown plantings predominate. In the block of quarters being developed, the main use is carried out in the form of continuous cutting of operational forests. The forest area is characterized by a predominance of coniferous species, mainly Korean cedar.

Information on forest carbon and diversity management and conservation is critical for achieving goals of climate action and life on land under UN SDGs. This study estimates carbon dynamics with stand structure, species composition, and diversity in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, ranges of Pakistan. A significantly higher carbon in mixed conifer broad-leaved forest (MCBL) followed by Cedrus deodara forest (CD) signifies the role of higher stand density and prevalence of larger trees in carbon regulation. The positive diversity carbon relation across the region and the occurrences of significantly higher carbon in diverse MCBL forest suggest that carbon-diversity conservation is synergistic. The results also revealed a positive effect of stand structure attributes and diversity on soil nutrients concentration, stock and stoichiometry as well on litter deadwood carbon. However, a negative effect of higher stand density and diversity was found on forest floor vegetation diversity and carbon. The higher carbon in poly-culture stands compared to most productive species provides useful insights on the conservation, restoration and raising of poly-culture stands as well species saturation of monoculture stands for sustainable carbon-diversity conservation. Poor regeneration status across the region with exclusion of management interventions is the insecurity to future carbon and diversity. Therefore, along with forest conservation and restoration programmes, the inclusion of selection and retention management system, conservation and community involvement are critical for sustainable carbon-diversity conservation and livelihoods.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-19274-2.

Rising sea levels and intensifying storms increase flooding pressure on coastal forests, triggering tree mortality, ecosystem transitions, and changes to the coastal carbon cycle. However, the mechanisms that drive coastal forest mortality remain elusive due to the complex interplay between belowground and aboveground processes during flooding disturbances and limitations of observations typically reported in coastal forest mortality studies. We used an ecosystem-scale manipulation to simulate hurricane-level flooding of a coastal forest and explore the individual and interactive impacts of inundation and salinity. Monitoring real-time soil conditions and tree physiological responses, we observed consistent impacts on soil biogeochemistry aligned with belowground drivers of tree mortality, but no consistent responses in aboveground vegetation immediately following flooding. Our findings provide empirically based insight into the earliest stages of a hypothesized forest mortality spiral and offer critical benchmarks for predicting coastal forest resilience in the face of accelerating climate change.

Abstract Carex pseudocyperus is a wetland species listed in the European and IUCN Plant Red Lists. However, its distribution and vegetation affinity are poorly known in Slovakia. We aimed to revise the chorology of this sedge species at a national level using all available herbarium, literature and field records and to provide vegetation synthesis of phytosociological relevés with its occurrence. Most species records occurred in the lowlands of south-western and eastern Slovakia (Pannonian phytogeographical region), whereas they were less common in the northern and mountainous regions. Although several past localities disappeared and many other species populations were reduced, C. pseudocyperus was also newly found in natural and anthropogenic habitats. TWINSPAN classification divided the dataset of 161 phytosociological relevés into 4 clusters of forest and shrub vegetation and 9 clusters of non-forest vegetation. Forest and shrub vegetation were syntaxonomically identified as follows: (1) alliance Alnion incanae, (2) transition between first and third group, (3) alliance Alnion glutinosae , and (4) alliance Salicion cinereae . The species composition of the non-forest plant communities was much more heterogeneous and interpreted as: (1) alliance Charion vulgaris , (2) class Lemnetea , (3) alliance Carici - Rumicion hydrolapathi , (4) alliance Eleocharito palustris-Sagittarion sagittifoliae , (5) alliance Phragmition communis , (6) alliances Magnocaricion elatae and Magnocaricion gracilis , (7) alliance Bidention tripartitae , (8) order Nanocyperetalia and (9) alliance Molinion caeruleae . Vegetation analysis revealed that the species in Slovakia predominantly occupied riparian forest and non-forest marshy vegetation, with sporadic occurrence in other plant communities. It exhibited a particularly high frequency and cover in alder swamp forests ( Alnion glutinosae alliance) and marshy vegetation of the Phragmito-Magnocaricetea class. Carex pseudocyperus should be of conservation or at least monitoring concern, as it inhabits different wetland and floodplain ecosystems susceptible to ongoing human pressure and environmental changes.

Lejeuneaceae Rostovzev is the largest family among liverworts, comprising a tropical and subtropical group of leafy species with considerable morphological diversity. These species can be found on a wide range of substrates and across all Phytogeographic Domains in Brazil. Among the representatives of this family, Lejeunea Libert. is the most diverse genus, with a Neotropical, Paleotropical, and Holarctic distribution. As part of a floristic survey of bryophytes conducted in the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, a species with unique characteristics was found and is here described as a new to Science. Identification was carried out using a stereomicroscope and light microscope, considering gametophytic characters, particularly the underleaf and lobule shape, the apex and margins of the leaf lobes, the cell shape, and stem cross-section. Therefore, Lejeunea tridenticulata A.V.Tourinho P. & D.F.Peralta, sp. nov., is known only from a single specimen collected in the Central-West region of Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso, in plateau areas, within the gallery forest vegetation of the Cerrado Phytogeographic Domain, at an altitude of 513 meters. It was found associated with eight other bryophyte species, growing on twigs. This species is mainly distinguished by its underleaves, which are bifid to trifid with markedly toothed margins bearing 1 to 4 teeth—features not found in any other species of the family or genus. This highlights the importance of floristic surveys for advancing our knowledge of biodiversity.

Tula botanical and geographical district is allocated by S.M. Razumovsky in the author's scheme of botanical and geographical zoning. The district territorially reflects the area of the succession system of broad-leaved forests with key forest-forming species of common ashFraxinus excelsiorL., heart-leaved lindenTilia cordataMill. and sweet oakQuercus roburL. The Tula district covers a significant part of the East European Plain, occupying a central position in the territorial structure of the East European forests. S.M. Razumovsky outlined the boundaries of the district, provided a list of leading species, and indicated excision and pyrogenic succession series. The purpose of this study is to supplement the description of the Tula botanical and geographical area, remaining within the framework of the concept of the botanical and geographical area of S.M. Razumovsky, in particular, to draw the boundaries of the district in more detail, to consider the features of the territorial structure and patterns of territorial differentiation of vegetation cover. According to the concept of the vegetation zone of S.M. Razumovsky, the zonal vegetation on the territory of the district should be considered forest vegetation, represented by broad-leaved forests. Two structural parts are clearly expressed within the district – the «core» and the «periphery». In the «core» area, which covers the northwestern part of the region with a climate favorable for the development of zonal forest vegetation, there is a maximum diversity of broad-leaved forests. In the «periphery» area, which covers the space of forest-steppe and steppe landscapes, the zonal forest vegetation experiences a lack of moisture, resulting in its limited distribution.