Abstract
This study investigates the potential of object-based texture parameters extracted from 15m spatial resolution ASTER imagery for estimating tree size diversity in a Mediterranean forested landscape in Turkey. Tree size diversity based on tree basal area was determined using the Shannon index and Gini Coefficient at the sampling plot level. Image texture parameters were calculated based on the grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) for various image segmentation levels. Analyses of relationships between tree size diversity and texture parameters found that relationships between the Gini Coefficient and the GLCM values were the most statistically significant, with the highest correlation (r=0.69) being with GLCM Homogeneity values. In contrast, Shannon Index values were weakly correlated with image derived texture parameters. The results suggest that 15m resolution Aster imagery has considerable potential in estimating tree size diversity based on the Gini Coefficient for heterogeneous Mediterranean forests.
Highlights
Biodiversity conservation has become an increasingly important issue in forest management, with forest managers having to include biodiversity considerations within existing management plans [1, 2]
Significant linear relationships occurred between the textural parameters and the diversity indices, with the Gini coefficient more strongly correlated than the Shannon index with image derived texture parameters, and for this reason the rest of this paper focuses on the Gini coefficient
The correlation between Gini values and the texture parameters was highest for grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) Homogeneity (r = 0.69, P < 0.01), intermediate for GLCM Dissimilarity (r = 0.65, P < 0.01) and lowest for GLCM Contrast
Summary
Biodiversity conservation has become an increasingly important issue in forest management, with forest managers having to include biodiversity considerations within existing management plans [1, 2]. A variety of indices including Shannon's index, Simpson index, Gini coefficient, Margalef index, McIntosh index, Berger-Parker index, Shannon evenness, McIntosh evenness and coefficient of variation have been used to quantify tree size diversity in previous studies These indices can be used in various forestry applications including; i) comparison of habitat quality for wildlife in different stands, ii) monitoring of changes in tree size diversity over time, iii) determining the impact of different silvicultural treatments on stand structure, and iv) defining the appropriate silvicultural treatments for different stands [7].
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