Assessment of Burned Area and Fire Severity Using Sentinel-2 Imagery: Case Studies from Türkiye’s Summer 2025 Wildfires

Year 2025, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 300 - 314, 27.09.2025

Çiğdem Şerifoğlu Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.48123/rsgis.1751391

Abstract

This study examines five major wildfires in Türkiye during the summer of 2025 (Aliaga-Foca, Seferihisar-Menderes, Akhisar, Tarakli-Geyve-Golpazari, and Antakya) using Sentinel-2 imagery. Burned areas and fire severity were assessed with Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), differenced NBR (dNBR), and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Burn severity mapping was complemented by analyses of pre-fire vegetation stress, wind dynamics, and topographic factors influencing fire spread. Results were validated against European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) data. Findings confirm that Sentinel-2 dNBR captured both the extent and severity of fire damage, showing consistency with EFFIS estimates. The most accurate results were achieved for Aliağa-Foça, Akhisar and Taraklı-Geyve-Gölpazarı. Seferihisar-Menderes (96.13 km²) and Tarakli-Geyve-Golpazari (61.31 km²) experienced the largest and most severe fires, marked by heterogeneous burn patterns. Notably, the strongest pre-fire drought signal did not align with the largest fire, underscoring the key role of real-time weather, fuel availability, and topography in shaping fire size and spread. For visual interpretation, False Colour Composite (FCC) imagery outperformed True Colour Composite (TCC) and NDVI. Overall, results highlight the effectiveness of Sentinel-2 and dNBR-based methods for post-fire monitoring and their importance for fire management under growing climate-related fire risks.

Keywords

Wildfires , Burned area mapping , Burn severity , Sentinel-2 , Remote sensing

Sentinel-2 Görüntüleri Kullanılarak Yanmış Alan ve Yangın Şiddetinin Değerlendirilmesi: Türkiye 2025 Yazı Orman Yangınlarından Örnekler

Abstract

Bu çalışma, 2025 yazında Türkiye’de meydana gelen beş büyük orman yangınını (Aliağa-Foça, Seferihisar-Menderes, Akhisar, Taraklı-Geyve-Gölpazarı ve Antakya) Sentinel-2 görüntüleri kullanarak incelemektedir. Yanmış alanlar ve yangın şiddeti, Normalize Yanıklık Oranı (NBR), fark alınmış NBR (dNBR) ve Normalize Bitki Örtüsü İndeksi (NDVI) üzerinden değerlendirilmiştir. Yangın şiddeti haritalaması, yangın yayılımını etkileyen yangın öncesi bitki örtüsü stresi, rüzgâr dinamikleri ve topoğrafik faktörlerin analizi ile desteklenmiştir. Sonuçlar, Avrupa Orman Yangını Bilgi Sistemi (EFFIS) verileri ile doğrulanmıştır. Bulgular, Sentinel-2 dNBR yönteminin yangın hasarının boyutunu ve şiddetini ortaya koyduğunu ve EFFIS tahminleri ile uyum gösterdiğini kanıtlamaktadır. En doğru sonuçlar Aliağa-Foça, Akhisar ve Taraklı-Geyve-Gölpazarı için elde edilmiştir. Seferihisar-Menderes (96.13 km²) ve Taraklı-Geyve-Gölpazarı (61.31 km²) en geniş ve en şiddetli alanları kapsayarak heterojen yanıklık desenleri sergilemiştir. İlginç bir şekilde, en güçlü kuraklık sinyali en büyük yangınla örtüşmemiştir; bu durum yangın boyutu ve yayılımında anlık meteoroloji, yakıt mevcudiyeti ve topoğrafyanın kritik rolünü vurgulamaktadır. Görsel yorumlamada Sahte Renk Kombinasyon görüntülerinin, Gerçek Renk Kombinasyon ve NDVI’dan daha etkili olduğu belirlenmiştir. Genel olarak sonuçlar, Sentinel-2 ve dNBR tabanlı yöntemlerin farklı iklim ve ekolojik bölgelerde yangın sonrası izleme için uygunluğunu ve iklim kaynaklı artan yangın riskleri karşısında yönetim açısından önemini ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

Orman yangınları , Yanmış alanların tespiti , Yangın şiddeti , Sentinel-2 , Uzaktan algılama

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