Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic Forests

Monitoring forest disturbances has become essential towards the design and tracking of sustainable forest management. Multiple methodologies have been developed to detect these disturbances. However, few studies have focused on the automatic detection of disturbance drivers, an essential task as eac...

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Main Authors: Laura Alonso, Juan Picos, Julia Armesto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-02-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/3/697
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author Laura Alonso
Juan Picos
Julia Armesto
author_facet Laura Alonso
Juan Picos
Julia Armesto
author_sort Laura Alonso
collection DOAJ
description Monitoring forest disturbances has become essential towards the design and tracking of sustainable forest management. Multiple methodologies have been developed to detect these disturbances. However, few studies have focused on the automatic detection of disturbance drivers, an essential task as each disturbance has different implications for the functioning of the ecosystem and associated management actions. Wildfires and harvesting are two of the major drivers of forest disturbances across different ecosystems. In this study, an automated methodology is presented to automatically distinguish between the two once the disturbance is detected, using the properties of its geometry and shape. A cluster analysis was performed to automatically individualize each disturbance and afterwards calculate its geometric properties. Using these properties, a decision tree was built that allowed for the distinction between wildfires and harvesting with an overall accuracy of 91%. This methodology and further research relating to it could pose an essential aid to national and international agencies for incorporating forest-disturbance-driver-related information into forest-focused reports.
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spelling doaj.art-d43aacd3bbda4f52882d88a283a3c3c22023-11-23T17:42:02ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-02-0114369710.3390/rs14030697Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic ForestsLaura Alonso0Juan Picos1Julia Armesto2Forestry Engineering School, University of Vigo—A Xunqueira Campus, 36005 Pontevedra, SpainForestry Engineering School, University of Vigo—A Xunqueira Campus, 36005 Pontevedra, SpainForestry Engineering School, University of Vigo—A Xunqueira Campus, 36005 Pontevedra, SpainMonitoring forest disturbances has become essential towards the design and tracking of sustainable forest management. Multiple methodologies have been developed to detect these disturbances. However, few studies have focused on the automatic detection of disturbance drivers, an essential task as each disturbance has different implications for the functioning of the ecosystem and associated management actions. Wildfires and harvesting are two of the major drivers of forest disturbances across different ecosystems. In this study, an automated methodology is presented to automatically distinguish between the two once the disturbance is detected, using the properties of its geometry and shape. A cluster analysis was performed to automatically individualize each disturbance and afterwards calculate its geometric properties. Using these properties, a decision tree was built that allowed for the distinction between wildfires and harvesting with an overall accuracy of 91%. This methodology and further research relating to it could pose an essential aid to national and international agencies for incorporating forest-disturbance-driver-related information into forest-focused reports.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/3/697wildfiresharvestingland cover changeremote sensingforestryshape
spellingShingle Laura Alonso
Juan Picos
Julia Armesto
Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic Forests
Remote Sensing
wildfires
harvesting
land cover change
remote sensing
forestry
shape
title Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic Forests
title_full Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic Forests
title_fullStr Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic Forests
title_full_unstemmed Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic Forests
title_short Automatic Identification of Forest Disturbance Drivers Based on Their Geometric Pattern in Atlantic Forests
title_sort automatic identification of forest disturbance drivers based on their geometric pattern in atlantic forests
topic wildfires
harvesting
land cover change
remote sensing
forestry
shape
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/3/697
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