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In recent years, forest fires have increased in terms of frequency, extent, and intensity, especially in Mediterranean countries. Wildfires affect the ecological functioning of ecosystems as they partially or completely burn the vegetation layers and affect post-fire processes such as soil erosion and vegetation recovery. Moreover, wildfires involve a great threat to property and human life, especially in the continuously increased Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas. The present study explores the consequences of the 2021 wildfire that occurred in the broader area of the Varibobi district, which is situated at the foot of the forested Parnitha mountain in the northwestern part of Athens. Initially, the study aims to introduce the broadly used Composite Burn Index (CBI) for the assessment of fire severity in Greece and examine the correlation of the satellite image-derived fire severity indices with CBI. Furthermore, the impact of fire severity and fire frequency, along with the previously existing land use/cover and its changes through time, landscape characteristics, and the consequential erosional soil loss (using the RUSLE method) on vegetation recovery, were examined and evaluated. The RBR burn severity index, showed the best correlation with the CBI method. The results display the impact of the natural and anthropogenic parameters on the potential vegetation recovery, considering the fire frequency and urbanization pressures that are also related to the areas’ specific pre-fire land use. Finally, the results revealed that vegetation recovery is more pronounced within the pre-fire pine forest areas. Additionally, the topographic and geological sub-strata features and soil loss due to post-fire erosion processes were also found significant in defining the causes, spatial distribution, and percentage of post-fire vegetation recovery.
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