Evaluation of the Impact Caused by the Snowfall after Storm Filomena on the Arboreal Masses of Madrid

Abstract

Following a copious and famous snowfall in Madrid city (Spain) and its surrounding area, the tree masses were analysed to assess the impact of this snowfall. In this way, this paper proposes an approach towards urban forest impact inventory mapping as a consequence of the snowfall of January 2021, and the subsequent atmospheric stability, which kept surface temperatures in Madrid close to −10 °C. The study has been carried out using snowfall data from 1920 to 2020 and images from the Sentinel, Landsat and MODIS satellites. The results obtained by means of image changes in the NDVI reveal a clear impact on the trees, with 11% of the winter vegetation cover of the municipality being affected. Especially significant has been the damage detected both in the forest areas in the city and in the parks, gardens or urban roads.

Keywords

• climate risk
• snowfall
• impact on trees
• satellite images
• satellite data
• NDVI