Abstract
ABSTRACTForest cover change can be detected with high precision using 3D geospatial data and semi-automatic analyses of Remote Sensing data. The aim of our study, performed in Gorce National Park in Poland, was to generate a land use land cover (LULC) map and use it to analyse forest cover change. The study area is a subalpine forest region that has been affected by bark beetle and wind disturbances. The Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis approach was used for classification, with Colour Infrared orthophotos and normalized Digital Surface Models generated using image-matching approach. Gathered results showed that dominating LULC class is coniferous forests (3380 ha; 47% of study area), when second largest class is deciduous forests (2204 ha; 30%). The dead Norway spruce stands (465.5 ha; 6.5%) showed significant increase comparing to 114.1 ha mapped in 1997.
Highlights
Secondary forest succession (FS) plays an important role in transforming semi-natural mountain farmland landscapes in several countries in Europe
We propose a Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) workflow that is appropriate for the classification of a range of forest stands using digital Colour Infrared (CIR) orthophotos and an normalized Digital Surface Models (nDSMs) generated from stereomatched aerial images
The main part of the study, which is described in the following subsections, is a GEOBIA classification based on aerial orthophotos and an nDSM generated from aerial images acquired in 2009
Summary
Secondary forest succession (FS) plays an important role in transforming semi-natural mountain farmland landscapes in several countries in Europe. This situation is resulting typically in the mountainous regions from pasture abandonment (Kolecka et al, 2017). The dynamics of forest cover changes in mountain ecosystems, especially of stands growing in protected areas, depends on complex interactions of abiotic and biotic disturbances such as wind throw, avalanche, fire, insect damage, fungal pathogen infection and human impact. These disturbances can have a high-severity causing extensive forest damage and tree mortality. Mortality-inducing disturbance is a fundamental part of FS, with dead trees playing an important role in the rehabilitation of upper subalpine forests in smaller canopy gaps (GA) as well as larger disturbed areas (Szewczyk, Szwagrzyk, & Muter, 2011)
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