Resiliencia de la cubierta vegetal en un área de montaña mediterránea afectada por el fuego: el caso del incendio de Río Verde (provincia de Málaga, sur de España)

Abstract

The study aim is the comparison of the vegetation cover type before and 22-years after a wildfire in order to evaluate its post-fire resilience as well as the effect of topographic attributes. The study area is that affected by a wildfire in 1991 (Rio Verde, Sierra de las Nieves). By means of remote sensing and mapping techniques, the type of vegetation cover was obtained for 1991, just before the wildfire, and for 2013. The comparison of both years indicates 50% of the burned area recovered the pre-fire vegetation cover, while 1/3 presented a major vegetation cover and a type of cover more evolved. Generally speaking, after the wildfire, the most influential topographic features in the vegetal cover evolution were slope gradient, altitude and radiation