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AUTOMATION IN THE ASSESSMENT OF FOREST SUCCESSION DYNAMICS USING AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING DATA

Marta Szostak

Abstract

Research was performed on the application of airborne laser scanning (ALS) data for the assessment of land use and land cover (LULC) changes, especially for the monitoring of land abandonment and increase of forest succession area. An automated method was developed based on the raster product of ALS data processing, leading to a normalized digital surface model (nDSM). In parallel, a manual vectorization orthophotomap analysis and spatial analyses based on the official cadastral data were performed, for comparison with the results of the automated method of ALS data processing. The Milicz district (in the central west part of Poland, EU) was chosen as a test site. ALS was performed and digital aerial photos (processed into orthophotomaps) were acquired. The area of study consisted of several plots (68 private parcels with a total area of 68.57 ha) listed in the cadastral databases as agricultural areas, meadows or pastures. However, some of them were not used for agriculture as they were subject to progressive land abandonment and the process of forest succession. The research confirmed a discrepancy with total area 40.92 ha (59.7% of the tested area) between the cadastral data and the actual state of the plots. Based on the ALS data, there was more than three times as much forested and wooded area than was recorded in the cadastral databases. The total area of forested land according to the ALS data (2012) was 21.14 ha and according to the cadastral database it was 5.73 ha. Detailed changes of land cover were determined over five years, based on ALS data between 2007 and 2012, showing the process of the increase in forest succession. The total area of forested, wooded and bushy areas in 2012 in the tested area had increased by about 1.30 ha (6.6% of the forested areas in 2007). With the use of ALS data, it became possible to confirm the progress of forest succession in the analysed area, not only in terms of the occupied area, but also in terms of the growth of trees and shrubs.

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