Does fire regime affect both temporal patterns and drivers of vegetation recovery in a resilient Mediterranean landscape? A remote sensing approach at two observation levels

We investigate how fire regime may influence both temporal patterns and drivers of vegetation regeneration in a Natural Park (NW Spain) affected by a long history of fire events and human activities. To address this issue, we evaluate the suitability of five spectral indices derived from Landsat imagery (for the period 1992-2005) for estimating biophysical properties of vegetation and monitoring post-fire recovery. Complementarily, we assess the role of the observation level (pixel and patch) on the results, identifying which of them is more informative for land management. Tasselled Cap Wetness was the best-performing index and total cover was the vegetation property more closely related to spectral data. Most post-fire recovery occurred within the 2 years following the fire event. Fire recurrence did not influence patch extent or shape nor did it affect ecosystem resilience. However, patch extent and shape affected resilience. The relevance of the environmental drivers behind vegetation recovery was not related to fire recurrence and changed over time. Prior vegetation status and rainfall were the most important drivers, while topography and vegetation type had a more secondary role. Our results advocate the consideration of patches as the most appropriate organisational unit when monitoring vegetation recovery.