Using remote sensing to monitor peatland fire occurrence and recovery

Many peatland areas in Great Britain are managed as grouse moors, with regular burns as part of management practice to encourage heather growth. Remote sensing has the potential to monitor the size, location, and impact of these burns using new fine resolution satellites such as Sentinel-2. Google Earth Engine allows large areas to be analysed at small scale over several years, building up a visual record of fire occurrence. This study uses satellite data to map managed burns on several areas of moorland around Great Britain, and uses remote sensing methods to assess the impact of this management strategy on vegetation cover. The project also considers how areas subject to managed burns react to wildfire occurrence, with the 2018 Saddleworth wildfire as a case study.