Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland
Although trees growing outside forests are less perceived in relation to those inside forests, they are also valuable and serve various functions. The biophysical thresholds of Trees Outside Forests (TOF) were recently defined and standardised by the Global Forest Resources Assessments of the United...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030324342100043X |
| _version_ | 1818549874944114688 |
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| author | Eylül Malkoç Marius Rüetschi Christian Ginzler Lars T. Waser |
| author_facet | Eylül Malkoç Marius Rüetschi Christian Ginzler Lars T. Waser |
| author_sort | Eylül Malkoç |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although trees growing outside forests are less perceived in relation to those inside forests, they are also valuable and serve various functions. The biophysical thresholds of Trees Outside Forests (TOF) were recently defined and standardised by the Global Forest Resources Assessments of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO-FRA). With these definitions, standardised mapping of TOF resources became feasible at the national and international level. Here, we aimed to fill the spatial information gap of TOF resources at the national scale with an automated mapping approach based on the UNFAO-FRA definition. The approach was carried out in ArcGIS using adapted UNFAO-FRA biophysical thresholds with routinely acquired countrywide remote sensing data for the whole of Switzerland: a Vegetation Height Model (VHM), a Topographic Landscape Model (TLM Regio) land cover map, and a Forest Mask. Results were validated using stereo-image interpretation data of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI), which verified 95%, 55% and 75% of overall, producer’s and user’s accuracy, respectively. Of the five forest production regions in Switzerland, the highest accuracy was achieved in the Central Plateau and the lowest in the Alps, with accuracy generally decreasing with increasing elevation. Omission and commission errors were highly correlated with the vertical and horizontal accuracy of the VHM, and the applied biophysical thresholds caused both types of error. The final TOF map produced with our approach is at the countrywide scale, is superior to existing TOF information, meets UNFAO-FRA management and reporting needs, and enables the derivation of TOF’s biomass, carbon sequestration potential and species distribution for the whole country. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:38:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ad531aa72d7541b99a0d93186bbc08c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1569-8432 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:38:58Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation |
| spelling | doaj.art-ad531aa72d7541b99a0d93186bbc08c12022-12-22T00:30:50ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation1569-84322021-08-01100102336Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in SwitzerlandEylül Malkoç0Marius Rüetschi1Christian Ginzler2Lars T. Waser3Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Trakya University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Landscape Architecture, Edirne 22030, Turkey; Corresponding author at: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland.Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandAlthough trees growing outside forests are less perceived in relation to those inside forests, they are also valuable and serve various functions. The biophysical thresholds of Trees Outside Forests (TOF) were recently defined and standardised by the Global Forest Resources Assessments of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO-FRA). With these definitions, standardised mapping of TOF resources became feasible at the national and international level. Here, we aimed to fill the spatial information gap of TOF resources at the national scale with an automated mapping approach based on the UNFAO-FRA definition. The approach was carried out in ArcGIS using adapted UNFAO-FRA biophysical thresholds with routinely acquired countrywide remote sensing data for the whole of Switzerland: a Vegetation Height Model (VHM), a Topographic Landscape Model (TLM Regio) land cover map, and a Forest Mask. Results were validated using stereo-image interpretation data of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI), which verified 95%, 55% and 75% of overall, producer’s and user’s accuracy, respectively. Of the five forest production regions in Switzerland, the highest accuracy was achieved in the Central Plateau and the lowest in the Alps, with accuracy generally decreasing with increasing elevation. Omission and commission errors were highly correlated with the vertical and horizontal accuracy of the VHM, and the applied biophysical thresholds caused both types of error. The final TOF map produced with our approach is at the countrywide scale, is superior to existing TOF information, meets UNFAO-FRA management and reporting needs, and enables the derivation of TOF’s biomass, carbon sequestration potential and species distribution for the whole country.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030324342100043XAutomated mappingCountrywideTrees outside forestsUNFAOVegetation height model |
| spellingShingle | Eylül Malkoç Marius Rüetschi Christian Ginzler Lars T. Waser Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation Automated mapping Countrywide Trees outside forests UNFAO Vegetation height model |
| title | Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland |
| title_full | Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland |
| title_fullStr | Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland |
| title_short | Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland |
| title_sort | countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in switzerland |
| topic | Automated mapping Countrywide Trees outside forests UNFAO Vegetation height model |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030324342100043X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT eylulmalkoc countrywidemappingoftreesoutsideforestsbasedonremotesensingdatainswitzerland AT mariusruetschi countrywidemappingoftreesoutsideforestsbasedonremotesensingdatainswitzerland AT christianginzler countrywidemappingoftreesoutsideforestsbasedonremotesensingdatainswitzerland AT larstwaser countrywidemappingoftreesoutsideforestsbasedonremotesensingdatainswitzerland |