Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan Range
The Chuprene Reserve was created in 1973 to preserve the natural coniferous forests in the Western Balkan Range in Bulgaria. The first infestations by European spruce bark beetle (<i>Ips typographus</i>) were registered in Norway spruce (<i>Picea abies</i>) stands in the mid-...
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/1/39 |
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| author | Georgi Georgiev Margarita Georgieva Stelian Dimitrov Martin Iliev Vladislav Trenkin Plamen Mirchev Sevdalin Belilov |
| author_facet | Georgi Georgiev Margarita Georgieva Stelian Dimitrov Martin Iliev Vladislav Trenkin Plamen Mirchev Sevdalin Belilov |
| author_sort | Georgi Georgiev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Chuprene Reserve was created in 1973 to preserve the natural coniferous forests in the Western Balkan Range in Bulgaria. The first infestations by European spruce bark beetle (<i>Ips typographus</i>) were registered in Norway spruce (<i>Picea abies</i>) stands in the mid-1980s. The aim of this study is to assess the damages caused by <i>I. typographus</i> in the Chuprene Reserve using remote sensing techniques – unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images, airborne images, and satellite images of European Space Imaging (EUSI), combined with terrestrial verification. High-resolution images in four bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and in a standard RGB channel were taken in 2017 via a multispectral camera ‘Parrot Sequoia’, integrated with a specialized professional UAV system eBee ‘Flying Wing’. The health status of Norway spruce stands in the reserve was assessed with the normalized difference vegetation index, based on the digital mixing of imagery captured in the red and near infrared range. The dynamic of bark beetle attacks was studied in GIS on the basis of maps generated from photographic surveys, airborne images taken in 2011 and 2015, and satellite images from 2020. In the UAV-captured area (314.0 ha), the size of Norway spruce stands attacked by <i>I. typographus</i> increased from 7.6 ha (2.4%) in 2011 to 44.9 ha (14.3%) in 2020. The satellite images showed that on the entire territory of the Chuprene Reserve (1451.9 ha), <i>I. typographus</i> killed spruce trees on 137.4 ha, which is 9.6% of the total area. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:28:30Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-2bf0be83e0e74b60b05e724db34dc5cc2023-11-23T13:46:48ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-01-011313910.3390/f13010039Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan RangeGeorgi Georgiev0Margarita Georgieva1Stelian Dimitrov2Martin Iliev3Vladislav Trenkin4Plamen Mirchev5Sevdalin Belilov6Forest Research Institute-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ 132, 1756 Sofia, BulgariaForest Research Institute-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ 132, 1756 Sofia, BulgariaDepartment of Cartography and GIS, Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, ‘Tsar Osvoboditel’ 15, 1504 Sofia, BulgariaDepartment of Cartography and GIS, Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, ‘Tsar Osvoboditel’ 15, 1504 Sofia, BulgariaGeographica Ltd., ‘Veliko Tarnovo’ 11, 1504 Sofia, BulgariaForest Research Institute-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ 132, 1756 Sofia, BulgariaForest Research Institute-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ 132, 1756 Sofia, BulgariaThe Chuprene Reserve was created in 1973 to preserve the natural coniferous forests in the Western Balkan Range in Bulgaria. The first infestations by European spruce bark beetle (<i>Ips typographus</i>) were registered in Norway spruce (<i>Picea abies</i>) stands in the mid-1980s. The aim of this study is to assess the damages caused by <i>I. typographus</i> in the Chuprene Reserve using remote sensing techniques – unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images, airborne images, and satellite images of European Space Imaging (EUSI), combined with terrestrial verification. High-resolution images in four bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and in a standard RGB channel were taken in 2017 via a multispectral camera ‘Parrot Sequoia’, integrated with a specialized professional UAV system eBee ‘Flying Wing’. The health status of Norway spruce stands in the reserve was assessed with the normalized difference vegetation index, based on the digital mixing of imagery captured in the red and near infrared range. The dynamic of bark beetle attacks was studied in GIS on the basis of maps generated from photographic surveys, airborne images taken in 2011 and 2015, and satellite images from 2020. In the UAV-captured area (314.0 ha), the size of Norway spruce stands attacked by <i>I. typographus</i> increased from 7.6 ha (2.4%) in 2011 to 44.9 ha (14.3%) in 2020. The satellite images showed that on the entire territory of the Chuprene Reserve (1451.9 ha), <i>I. typographus</i> killed spruce trees on 137.4 ha, which is 9.6% of the total area.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/1/39remote sensingUAVsatellite imagesbark beetle spots<i>Ips typographus</i>Chuprene Reserve |
| spellingShingle | Georgi Georgiev Margarita Georgieva Stelian Dimitrov Martin Iliev Vladislav Trenkin Plamen Mirchev Sevdalin Belilov Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan Range Forests remote sensing UAV satellite images bark beetle spots <i>Ips typographus</i> Chuprene Reserve |
| title | Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan Range |
| title_full | Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan Range |
| title_fullStr | Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan Range |
| title_full_unstemmed | Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan Range |
| title_short | Remote Sensing Assessment of the Expansion of <i>Ips typographus</i> Attacks in the Chuprene Reserve, Western Balkan Range |
| title_sort | remote sensing assessment of the expansion of i ips typographus i attacks in the chuprene reserve western balkan range |
| topic | remote sensing UAV satellite images bark beetle spots <i>Ips typographus</i> Chuprene Reserve |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/1/39 |
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