Multispectral Indices for Wildfire Management
Afonso Oliveira João P. Matos-Carvalho Filipe Moutinho Nuno Fachada
This paper highlights and summarizes the most important multispectral indices
and associated methodologies for fire management. Various fields of study are
examined where multispectral indices align with wildfire prevention and
management, including vegetation and soil attribute extraction, water feature
mapping, artificial structure identification, and post-fire burnt area
estimation. The versatility and effectiveness of multispectral indices in
addressing specific issues in wildfire management are emphasized. Fundamental
insights for optimizing data extraction are presented. Concrete indices for
each task, including the NDVI and the NDWI, are suggested. Moreover, to enhance
accuracy and address inherent limitations of individual index applications, the
integration of complementary processing solutions and additional data sources
like high-resolution imagery and ground-based measurements is recommended. This
paper aims to be an immediate and comprehensive reference for researchers and
stakeholders working on multispectral indices related to the prevention and
management of fires.