Advances and Challenges in Remote Sensing Burned Area Mapping: From Observation and Algorithms to Validation, Transferability, and Applications

Burned area mapping (BAM) provides essential spatial information for fire monitoring, emissions accounting, and ecological impact assessment, but reported accuracy cannot be interpreted independently of mapping targets, reference data, validation design, and application context. We systematically reviewed 1339 remote sensing BAM studies published from 1999 to 2026 to examine technological advances and the evidence supporting validation, transferability, and downstream use. Existing studies address multiple targets, including burned extent, total burned area, fire perimeter/event, burn date, and fire progression, each of which requires distinct evaluation criteria. High-spatial-resolution data, dense time series, multi-source fusion, and advanced learning methods have expanded mapping capabilities, yet small-fire omission, mixed pixels, cloud and smoke interference, confusion with non-fire agricultural disturbances, reference-data limitations, and long-term nonstationarity remain important sources of error. Most studies emphasize local validation, whereas explicit external-transfer tests are comparatively scarce, and random pixel or patch splits do not demonstrate transfer across fire events, regions, years, or sensors. Evidence that BAM errors alter downstream outcomes is even more limited. BAM reliability should therefore be interpreted in relation to the mapping target, tested conditions, transfer evidence, and task-specific fitness for use rather than a single accuracy metric.