Abstract
Landscape- to continental-scale studies of forest disturbance and recovery typically rely on satellite image-based indices of vegetation condition. A recently proposed disturbance index that accentuates patches of disturbed forest has been used to detect fire and insect defoliation scars, but until now it has not been used to assess recovery over time. We used a weighted version of the index to emphasize canopy differences caused by fire while minimizing other differences that may exist in the imagery to monitor succession following the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park. Spectral estimates of moisture levels were the most important difference between burned and unburned patches, while differences in estimates of photosynthetic activity were weak and decreased as succession progressed. Burned areas were clearly highlighted in the weighted images. Classifications based on the weighted index were reliably accurate, although they gradually decreased as succession erased the difference between disturbed and undisturbed forest. The weighted index successfully reduced the effects of differences that were not the focus of the research; the weights in particular helped maintain the sensitivity of the disturbance index through Yellowstone’s recovery
Recommended Citation
Klotzbach, Matthew and Thayn, Jonathan
(2014)
"Improved Monitoring of Forest Disturbance and Succession Using an Optimized Satellite Image Index,"
The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 55:
Iss.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol55/iss2/3