A Method for Mapping and Associating Burned Areas with Agricultural Practices Within the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

Fire occurs naturally and anthropogenically in the Cerrado biome, influenced by hydrology, climate, topography, and land use. Mapping burned areas is essential for understanding the causes of fire and improving prevention and regulation. However, fire scars are often confused with bare soil in agricultural regions. This study presents a method for mapping burned areas using spectral indices and artificial neural networks (ANN). We evaluated the accuracy of these techniques and identified the best input variables for scar detection. Using Sentinel-2 images from 2018 to 2021 during dry periods, we applied NDVI, SAVI, NBR, and CSI indices. The study included two stages: first, finding optimal classification configurations for fire scars, and second, mapping land use and cover with fire scars and crops. Results showed that using all Sentinel-2 bands and the four indices post-fire achieved over 93.7% accuracy and a kappa index of 0.92. Fire scars were mainly located in areas with temporary crops like soybean, sugarcane, rice, and cotton. This low-cost method allows for effective monitoring of fire scars, underscoring the need to regulate agricultural practices in the Cerrado, where burning poses environmental and health risks.