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Title: Assessment of forest quality in southwestern Poland with the use of remotely sensed data
Author(s): Bochenek, Zbigniew; Ciolkosz, Andrzej; Iracka, Maria
Date: 1998
Source: In: Bytnerowicz, Andrzej; Arbaugh, Michael J.; Schilling, Susan L., tech. coords. Proceedings of the international symposium on air pollution and climate change effects on forest ecosystems. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-166. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 251-254
Station ID: GTR-PSW-166
Description: A three-stage approach was applied to assess the quality of forests in southwestern Poland, which are heavily affected with air pollution and insect infestations. In the first stage a ground evaluation of spruce stands was done within the selected test areas. Three main characteristics of forest quality were determined as a result of these works: defoliation, discoloration, and vigor of trees. Next, aerial color infrared photographs were taken over the study area. They covered stands at different stages of forest decline. Detailed analysis of these photographs enabled discrimination of four levels of damage to spruce stands, as well as various phenomena, which accompany forest decline and transformation (loose canopy closure, windbreaks and windfalls, afforestations and regenerations). Results of analysis of aerial photographs and ground-truth information supported the main stage of the work: digital classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite images. Digital classification of Landsat TM images can be useful for evaluation of forest quality and for rapid large-area assessment of forest changes, which accompany degradation processes. Different methods of analyzing satellite data were studied to obtain maximum information content. Supervised classification based on the TM3, TM4 and TM5 spectral bands was then applied. As a result of classifications for the test site, which is seriously affected with air pollution, three levels of forest damage were distinguished, as well as clear-cuts and vegetated openings accompanying forest decline. Comparison of two classifications performed on images collected in 1984 and 1990 revealed great changes in forest structure.
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