Author(s)

Alexander S. Alekseev, Dmitry M. Chernikhovskii

Department of Forest Inventory, Management and GIS, Saint-Petersburg State Forest Technical University, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation.

The research was carried out on the territory of the Karelian Isthmus of the Leningrad Region using Sentinel-2B images and data from a network of ground sample plots. The ground sample plots are located in the studied territory mainly in a regular manner, laid and surveyed according to the ICP-Forests methodology with some additions. The total area of the sample plots is a small part of the entire study area. One of the objectives of the study was to determine the possibility of using the k-NN (nearest neighbor method) to assess the state of forests throughout the whole studied territory by joint statistical processing of data from ground sample plots and Sentinel-2B imagery. The data of the ground-based sample plots were divided into 2 equal parts, one for the application of the k-NN method, the second for checking the results of the method application. The systematic error in determining the mean damage class of the tree stands on sample plots by the k-NN method turned out to be zero, the random error is equal to one point. These results offer a possibility to determine the state of the forest in the entire study area. The second objective of the study was to examine the possibility of using the short-wave vegetation index (SWVI) to assess the state of forests. As a result, a close statistically reliable dependence of the average score of the state of plantations and the value of the SWVI index was established, which makes it possible to use the established relationship to determine the state of forests throughout the studied territory. The joint use and statistical processing of remotely sensed data and ground-based test areas by the two studied methods make it possible to assess the state of forests throughout the large studied area within the image. The results obtained can be used to monitor the state of forests in large areas and design appropriate forestry protective measures.

Remote Sensing, Sentinel-2B Imagery, ICP-Forest Sample Plot, Tree Stand, Damage Class, k-NN (Nearest Neighbor Method), Vegetation Index SWVI, Nonlinear Regression, Systematic Error, Random Error

Alekseev, A. and Chernikhovskii, D. (2022) Assessment of the State of Forests Based on Joint Statistical Processing of Sentinel-2B Remote Sensing Data and the Data from Network of Ground-Based ICP-Forests Sample Plots. Open Journal of Ecology, 12, 513-528. doi: 10.4236/oje.2022.128028.