Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 81 (1): 95-110, 2008
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Characteristics of areas affected by fire in 2005 at Parque Nacional de Torres del Paine
(Chile) as assessed from multispectral images
The use of remote sensors is one of the most important aspects in the study of large fires
for an assessment of their severity, as well as the application of the results to the restoration process. This work has studied the
application of images from the Landsat ETM + ASTER sensors in order to evaluate the prior vegetation, the surface burned and the
damage caused by a fire occurring in 2005 in the National Park of Torres del Paine (Chile). The results obtained indicate that the delta
NBR index is reasonably versatile for evaluating the affected surface, in this case estimated at 17.138 ha, as well as the damage
severity (Reliability = 81.5 %; k= 0.73). In addition, the suitability of using Landsat ETM+ images to improve the quality of
maps of vegetation prior to the fire (Reliability = 79.5 %; k= 0.75.) has been confirmed. It has been possible to apply a combination of this information to
assist in the restoration of the fire-affected area. However, the results have also shown some limitations in the sensors, particularly in
the definition of ecosystems with small and/or fragmented surface representations, which suggests that the use of sensors with a
greater spatial resolution could improve the final cartographic products, and, therefore, the quality of the restoration
works.
Key words:
forest fires, Patagonian
vegetation, severity, Normalized Burn Ratio
