Mapping burned areas in Kazakhstan using KazEOSat 1 datasets

Forest fires are common occurrences in Kazakhstan, particularly from June until September, and damage extensively to the country's forest resources. The mapping of burned areas is crucial for fire management to implement the proper mitigation strategies and restoration actions following the fire season. The mapping of burned areas enables a thorough evaluation of the damage caused by fires to forests. The unique characteristics of forest plants and soil are dramatically altered by the fire's destruction, leading to a dramatic shift in reflectance. The destruction caused by fires can be mitigated, and vegetation can be replanted, with the use of maps depicting the affected areas. Accurate and timely mapping of burned areas is critical for fire prevention methods such as planning, mitigation, and vegetation regeneration. The country Kazakhstan launched two satellites KazEOSat 1 and KazEOSat 2 as part of the Earth Remote Sensing Satellite System (ERSSS) for the management of natural resources and monitoring. The KazEOSat 1 is a high-resolution observation satellite, launched in Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 630 km, consisting 4 spectral bands (4m) and very high panchromatic (1m) band. In this study, KazEOsat 1 satellite datasets were used to map the burned area in various parts of Kazakhstan. Three different spectral indices viz. Global Environmental Monitoring Index (GEMI), Ashburn Vegetation Index (AVI) and Burn Area Index (BAI) are used and the findings are compared to the best burnt area discrimination index using KazEOsat 1 satellite datasets. The results show that the BAI shows the higher accuracy than other indices to map the burnt area using the KazEOsat 1 satellite datasets.