PhD THESES SINCE 2009

ONGOING

  • Generación, parametrización y cartografía de combustibles forestales mediante teledetección
    • Student: Elena Aragoneses de la Rubia
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco, Mariano García

The thesis aims to map and parameterize forest fuels from a homogeneous perspective for Europe. The methods consist on the integration of information from spatial databases, bioclimatic modelling, remote sensing (optical and LiDAR) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The objective is to generate reference information for wildfire risk prevention in Europe. This research is part of the H2020 FirEUrisk project. 

  • Evaluación y seguimiento de procesos de decaimiento de bosque desde una perspectiva multi-sensor
    • Student: Marina Rodes Blanco
    • Directors: Mariano García, Paloma Ruíz Benito

The aim of this thesis is to characterize the spatio-temporal dynamics of the Mediterranean forest due to global change trough the integration of fieldwork, forest inventory data and remote sensing data. The first part of the thesis is focused on studying canopy gap structure and dynamics in Mediterranean forests from LiDAR data and to generate an explanatory model. The second part aims to analyse vegetation resistance and resilience patterns using time series and spectral trajectories in different forest types. 

  • Assessment of the trends of forest fire regimes by using multi-scale satellite data fusion
    • Student: Amin Khaïroun
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero

The objective of this thesis is to analyse the trends of fire events, their severity, frequency and their effects on land cover dynamics over areas highly affected by wildfires (sub-Saharan Africa, tropical South America, etc.) using current global fire products (MCD64, FireCCIS310, etc.) in fusion with other regional sensor databases at a high spatial resolution and/or long temporal coverage (FireCCISFD, Landsat data, etc.). This research is part of the ESA FireCCI+ project.

  • Detection, prediction and impacts of extreme fires at global scale
    • Student: Erika Solano Romero
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero

The objective of this study is to analyze holistically the phenomenon of extreme fires and its implications at a global level, dealing with key aspects such as the definition of the concept, its relationship with extreme weather events, the comparison of fires in deforested areas concerning land management, as well as their impact on forest ecosystem dynamics and environmental carbon balances, using as a basis data from the ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (CCI) project, together with other sources of information, for the period from 2001 to 2022.

  • Wildfire Risk: modelling human-caused wildfire ignition occurrence
    • Student: M. Clara Ochoa Vélez
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco

This thesis focuses on modeling the probability of human-caused wildfire ignitions, integrating socioeconomic,  demographic and  biophysical caracteristics in Europe. The research is conducted within the FirEUrisk project to enhance European strategies for wildfire resilience. It aims to create probabilistic maps at European and national scales using machine learning, enabling risk assessment and scenario simulations for better decision-making. 

  • Characterization of functional diversity in forest ecosystems affected by drought decay using remote sensing
    • Student: María José López Caro
    • Directors: Mariano García, Inmaculada Aguado

This thesis has the objective of understanding and predicting causes and consequences of forest degradation and loss, especially regarding fast changes, using remote sensing data. Functional diversity will be studied in depth as a buffering mechanism to create more resilient forests, in order to foster a more sustainable forest management, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

  • Methodology for the assessment of socioeconomic vulnerability to forest fires in wildland-urban interface environments in the Community of Madrid
    • Student: Emilio de Diego
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco, Inmaculada Aguado

This thesis addresses the challenge of developing a methodology to assess the socioeconomic vulnerability to wildfires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) applied in the Community of Madrid. Increasing urbanization in WUI areas has increased considerably and, combined with climate change, wildfire events have become more intense and damaging. The scope of this thesis is to propose an improvement in disaster risk management (DRM) tools through the development of a mapping system that identifies and evaluates vulnerable elements, as well as their relationships.

  • Forest vegetation mapping and fuel type mapping by fusion of satellite and drone data for fuel management and wildfire risk reduction
    • Student: Pegah Mohammadpour
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero, Domingos Viegas, Alcides Pereira

The thesis aims to develop a complete methodology to pass from sets of raw satellite and drone data (optical and radar data) concerning land cover and fuel types in the context of the FirEUrisk project to a set of actions to be taken toward optimal forest management and the creation of fire-resilient and sustainable landscapes. The project has been granted by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, under grant agreement 2021.05971.BD attributed to the student.

  • Estimation of forest fuel loads using an integrated geospatial approach
    • Student: Alvaro Agustín Chávez Durán
    • Directors: Blanca Figueroa, Miguel Olvera, Inmaculada Aguado, Mariano García

This thesis aims to integrate geospatial methods to estimate fuel load in the protected area of Sierra de Quila, Jalisco (Mexico). The definition of Homogeneous Response Areas from fieldwork, environmental variables and satellite data will be the base to estimate the spacial distribution of fuel characteristics using deep learning techniques.

PAST THESES

2024
  • Desarrollo de una metodología multiescala basada en datos espaciales y de teledetección para cartografiar y evaluar la vulnerabilidad ecológica de los ecosistemas terrestres ante incendios
    • Doctorando: Fátima Arrogante Funes
    • Directores: Inmaculada Aguado, Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Evaluación del estado de salud de las masas forestales de la Comunidad de Madrid mediante técnicas de teledetección
    • Doctorando: Pablo J. Torres Hernández
    • Directores: Mariano García, Héctor Nieto
2022
  • Post-fire regeneration estimation from Landsat images, Lidar data and environmental variables
    • Student: Alba Viana Soto
    • Directors: Javier Salas and Mariano García
  • Validation and error analysis in burned area products
    • Student: Magí Franquesa Fuentetaja
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Forest variables extraction using synergies between active and passive sensors
    • Student: Ignacio Borlaf Mena
    • Directors: Mihai A. Tanase, Ovidiu Badea
  • Development and analysis of global Long-Term Burned Area based on AVHRR-LTDR data
    • Student: Gonzalo Otón Azofra
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • El aporte de las tradiciones religiosas al consumo sostenible
    • Student: Anabel Orellano
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero and Carmen Valor
  • Development of a global burned area algorirthm for medium resolution optical sensors
    • Student: Joshua Lizundia Loiola
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
2020
  • Burned area mapping using active and passive sensors of medium spatial resolution.
    • Student: Miguel Ángel Belenguer Plomer
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero and Mihai Tanase
2019
  • Global burned area products: Development, data mining and application to climate studies.
    • Student: Rubén Ramo Sánchez
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
2017
  • Análisis de los cambios en la estructura del paisaje por incendios forestales mediante teledetección.
    • Student: Alexander Ariza Pastrana
    • Directors: Javier Salas Rey y Silvia Merino de Miguel
2016
  • Development of burned area algorithms on a global scale
    • Student: Itziar Alonso Cañas
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Global mapping of fuel types for fire danger assessment
    • Student: María Lucrecia Pettinari
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
2015
  • The role of evapotranspiration in water resources management: local measurements and regional estimates
    • Student: Alberto de Tomás Calero
    • Directors: Javier Salas, Pedro Berliner and Héctor Nieto
2014
  • Global Fire Regime Characterization from Remotely Sensed Data
    • Student: Stijn Hantson
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Inter-comparación de productos globales de área quemada generados por teledetección
    • Student: Marc Padilla Parellada
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Validación de productos globales de área quemada
    • Student: Dante Corti
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Characterising fire regimes in Spain from fire records
    • Student: María Vanesa Moreno Domínguez
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Estimation of gap fraction and clumping index with terrestrial and airborne laser scanner data
    • Student: John Gajardo Valenzuela
    • Directors: F. Javier Salas, David Riaño and Mariano García
2012
  • Remotely Sensed Live Fuel Moisture Retrieval Using Radiative Transfer Models
    • Student: Sara Jurdao Knecht
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero and Marta Yebra Álvarez
2011
  • Estimation of forest fuel properties from lidar remote sensing
    • Student: Mariano García Alonso
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero and David Riaño
  • Análisis de la deforestación en Venezuela: Bases para el establecimiento de una estrategia REDD +
    • Student: Carlos Pacheco Angulo
    • Director: Inmaculada Aguado
  • Análisis geográfico de los incendios forestales de la España peninsular en el período 1991-2005
    • Student: Felipe Rodríguez Verdú
    • Director: Javier Salas Rey
2010
  • Cartografía de áreas quemadas a partir de imágenes MERIS
    • Student: Patricia Oliva
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Estimación y Evaluación del contenido de materia seca en especies forestales utilizando técnicas de teledetección
    • Student: Agnes Alejandra Romero Osses
    • Directors: Inmaculada Aguado and Javier Litago
2009
  • Cartografía automática de área quemada a nivel local-regional mediante algoritmos de contexto espacial
    • Student: Aitor Bastarrica Izaguirre
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero and María Pilar Martín
  • Application of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Wildfire Danger Assessment
    • Student: Héctor Nieto Solana
    • Directors: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero and Inmaculada Aguado
  • Estimación mensual de emisiones por biomasa quemada para Colombia basado en imágenes de satélite
    • Student: Jesús Adolfo Anaya Acevedo
    • Director: Emilio Chuvieco Salinero
  • Elaboración de modelos espaciales predictivos de ocurrencia de incendios forestales asociada a la actividad humana
    • Student: Lara Vilar del Hoyo
    • Director: María Pilar Martín Isabel