Application of multispectral imaging in forest monitoring: A case study of national parks in Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Deforestation and forest degradation are one of the most complex ecological challenges worldwide. Multispectral imaging and remote sensing help researchers and forest managers to quantify forest loss and degradation. By combining multiple bands of satellite data, multispectral indices can highlight changes in forest structure and reduce the cost and time required for field research. In this research multispectral indices and remote sensing are used in different areas of forestry (such as deforestation, wildfires, phenology) and five examples of remote sensing in forest monitoring are presented. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is used to quantify deforestation in ski center in Kopaonik National park. The Normalized Burn Ration (NBR) is used to assess forest fire damage in Šar planina National Park. The Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) is used to monitor some phenological events in Fruška gora National Park. The moisture content of vegetation in Djerdap National Park is analyzed with the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) and pest damage is monitored with the NDVI and the Normalized Difference Rededge Vegetation Index (NDRE) in Tara National Park. The results of these five case study analyses show that multispectral imaging provides the most evident results in monitoring deforestation, while pest and disease damage is difficult to detect.

Keywords

• multispectral indices
• remote sensing
• forest
• kopaonik
• tara
• šar planina
• fruška gora
• đerdap