Abstract
Spruce stands in the mountains of Central Europe are particularly valuable, not only because of their natural and scenic values but also because of their role in the protection of watersheds and soil. Over the past decades, these stands were frequently exposed to massive deforestation caused by various biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic factors. The current health condition of spruce stands in the Eastern Sudetes shows that the next phase of deterioration of these stands has begun. Bearing in mind past experiences and the current situation in these mountain areas, it is particularly important to understand the processes and factors that may short-term (2012–2016) spruce health analyses based on the normalized difference red-edge index and RapidEye satellite imagery, which is being delivered annually. Aided by remote sensing data and Boosted Regression Trees, it was possible to determine the topographic and tree stand features having the greatest impact on the vitality of spruce in all analyzed areas during 2012–2016. As the results show, the highest impact on the value of the normalized difference red-edge index indicator comes from a height above sea level, age of stands, terrain slopes, and exposure. In various areas, these factors may affect the vitality of spruce to varying degrees but not always in the same way. Our models accurately explained 74–81% of the randomly selected input data (predicted 72–80% of the excluded data) for site A, 50–58% for site B (48–57% for tested data) and 54–70% for site C (52–69% for excluded data).
Highlights
The mountainous areas of Central Europe are a special place, because of their natural and scenic values and because of their water and soil-protecting role
Forest dieback progression in the Western Sudety Mountains seemed to be under control and air pollution had decreased [3] since the end of 20th century, the mortality of spruce increased significantly in the western Beskidy [4,5,6] where the land surface affected by deforestation processes reached 7%
Based on the collected data, a descriptive analysis was done for the values of normalized difference red-edge index (NDRE) vegetation index and predictors
Summary
The mountainous areas of Central Europe are a special place, because of their natural and scenic values and because of their water and soil-protecting role. Due to topography and weather conditions prevailing in these mountains, these areas are vulnerable to deforestation and forest dieback. This process has occurred in Central Europe since the late 1970s (especially in the Western Sudetes), when air pollution reached its highest levels and resulted in the decline of forest stands. Forest dieback progression in the Western Sudety Mountains seemed to be under control and air pollution had decreased [3] since the end of 20th century, the mortality of spruce increased significantly in the western Beskidy [4,5,6] where the land surface affected by deforestation processes reached 7%.
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