Fusing Sentinel-2 Imagery and ALS Point Clouds for Defining LULC Changes on Reclaimed Areas by Afforestation

Marta Szostak, Kacper Knapik, Piotr Wężyk, Justyna Likus-Cieślik and Marcin Pietrzykowski
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Marta Szostak: Department of Forest Management, Geomatics and Forest Economics, Institute of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. 29 Listopada 46, Krakow 31-425, Poland
Kacper Knapik: Department of Forest Management, Geomatics and Forest Economics, Institute of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. 29 Listopada 46, Krakow 31-425, Poland
Piotr Wężyk: Department of Forest Management, Geomatics and Forest Economics, Institute of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. 29 Listopada 46, Krakow 31-425, Poland
Justyna Likus-Cieślik: Department of Forest Ecology and Reclamation, Institute of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. 29 Listopada 46, Krakow 31-425, Poland
Marcin Pietrzykowski: Department of Forest Ecology and Reclamation, Institute of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Al. 29 Listopada 46, Krakow 31-425, Poland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: The study was performed on two former sulphur mines located in Southeast Poland: Jeziórko, where 216.5 ha of afforested area was reclaimed after borehole exploitation and Machów, where 871.7 ha of dump area was reclaimed after open cast strip mining. The areas were characterized by its terrain structure and vegetation cover resulting from the reclamation process. The types of reclamation applied in these areas were forestry in Jeziórko and agroforestry in the Machów post-sulphur mine. The study investigates the possibility of applying the most recent Sentinel-2 (ESA) satellite imageries for land cover mapping, with a primary focus on detecting and monitoring afforested areas. Airborne laser scanning point clouds were used to derive precise information about the spatial (3D) characteristics of vegetation: the height (95th percentile), std. dev. of relative height, and canopy cover. The results of the study show an increase in afforested areas in the former sulphur mines. For the entire analyzed area of Jeziórko, forested areas made up 82.0% in the year 2000 (Landsat 7, NASA), 88.8% in 2009 (aerial orthophoto), and 95.5% in 2016 (Sentinel-2, ESA). For Machów, the corresponding results were 46.1% in 2000, 57.3% in 2009, and 60.7% in 2016. A dynamic increase of afforested area was observed, especially in the Jeziórko test site, with the presence of different stages of vegetation growth.

Keywords: image processing; ALS point clouds; GIS spatial analyses; spatial structure of vegetation; LULC changes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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