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Climate change has led to an increase in fire frequency in some areas on Earth. Satellite-derived spectral indices such as the Burn Area Index (BAI), the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), and their various derivatives are important for monitoring fires. The Burn Area Index for Sentinel-2 (BAIS2), which relies on the spectral bands of Sentinel-2, has a limitation due to its dependence on the red-edge spectral region unique to this satellite. To address this limitation, two new spectral indices (the Optimized Burned Area Index (OBAI) and the Optimized Burned Area Thermal Index (OBATI)) for burned scar mapping have been proposed based on the spectral separability concept and inter-band correlations. These indices aimed to improve the effectiveness of burned scar mapping by utilizing a wider range of spectral bands, including Landsat-8 thermal band and visible, near infrared (NIR), and mid infrared (MIR) regions of either Landsat-8 or Sentinel-2 sensors, which are more responsive to burned scars. We used spatial and spectral accuracy assessments to compare the effectiveness of the standard burned scar mapping indices (BASI2 and NBR) with the newly developed indices in discriminating the burned scars in several world regions. Based on Emergency Management Service fire perimeters, the vector distance algorithm (VDA) revealed that the accuracy of the fire perimeters extracted from the newly developed index, OBAI, was more reliable than the perimeters extracted using the BAIS2 and NBR. The BAIS2 index had the lowest performance in terms of spectral sensitivity compared to the other indices in the detection of burned scars. The performance of the developed optical index was high once the Landsat-8 data used to calculate it compared to Sentinel-2 data. Our findings could be used to further optimize global burned scar products derived from spaceborne data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caucasian Grouse (Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi) is an endemic species found in the Caucasus whose population is declining. Initial assessment of genetic variation and phylogenetic status of the species confirmed themonophyly of L. mlokosiewiczias and indicated a sister relationship between L. mlokosiewiczi and L. tetrix (Black grouse). Further theCaucasian grouse from Georgia, Caucasus and Iran created three genetic groups with no shared haplotype. This separation could be the result of different evolutionary events or geographic distances between them. Four different haplotypeswere identified in north-western Iran, distributed inside and outside Arasbaran protected area (APA), suggesting the expansion of APAto include Caucasian grouse habitats in the Kalibar Mountains (western APA) and enhance the protection of the species in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]