Differentiation of Alternate Harvesting Practices Using Annual Time Series of Landsat Data

Lukas Jarron,Donald Leckie,Joanne White,Michael Wulder,Txomin Hermosilla,Geordie Hobart,Nicholas Coops

doi:10.3390/f8010015

Lukas Jarron, Donald Leckie + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/f8010015

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Abstract

Sustainable forest management practices allow for a range of harvest prescriptions, including clearcut, clearcut with residual, and partial or selective cutting, which are largely distinguished by the amount of canopy cover removed. The different prescriptions are aimed to emulate natural disturbance, encourage regeneration (seed trees), or offer other ecosystem services, such as the maintenance of local biodiversity or habitat features. Using remotely sensed data, stand-replacing disturbance associated with clearcutting is commonly accurately detected. Novel time series-based change detection products offer an opportunity to determine the capacity to detect and label a wider range of harvest practices. In this research, we demonstrate the capacity of time series imagery, spectral metrics, and related attributed change products, to distinguish between different harvesting practices over a study area in central British Columbia, Canada. Producer’s accuracy of harvest attribution was 79%, with 93% of harvest blocks >5 ha accurately identified. In relation to the amount of canopy cover removed, clearcut harvesting was the most accurately classified (84%), followed by clearcut with residual (79%), and partial cut (64%). Applying detailed spectral metrics derived from Landsat data revealed clearcut and partial cuts to be spectrally distinct. The annual nature of the Landsat time series also offers spatial harvest information within typical, often decadal, forest inventory update cycles. The statistically significant (p < 0.05) relationship between harvest practices and Landsat spectral information indicates a capacity to add increased attribution richness to remote sensing depictions of forest harvest.

Highlights

65% of Canada is occupied by forest-dominated ecosystems [1], of which~350 million hectares are represented by trees and other wooded land [2], with the remainder dominated by lakes and wetlands
To compare the changes detected from the Landsat time series and the forest harvest data, our approach was as follows
We assessed the capability of Landsat time series to identify and characterize different harvest practices reported in established harvest records, including clearcut, clearcut with residual, and partial cut

Summary

Introduction

65% of Canada is occupied by forest-dominated ecosystems [1], of which. ~350 million hectares are represented by trees and other wooded land [2], with the remainder dominated by lakes and wetlands. Condition, and management of forest resources is critical to meet both national [3,4] and international [5] expectations of sustainable forest management and to support reporting requirements. Information on the extent and type of forest harvesting is captured and maintained through spatial forest inventories to assist with management and reporting activities. Due to the nature of natural resource stewardship in Canada, provincial and territorial resource management agencies are responsible for managing forest resources. An element of forest resource management is the allocation

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