Development of Automated Workflows (Spatial Models) for Forest Monitoring with the Use of Time-Series of Multispectral Optical and SAR Data

Abstract

The significance of forest ecosystems in terms of ecosystem processes and services and impacts on humanity is fully acknowledged. The constant exploitation of natural resources and the increasing anthropogenic pressure on ecosystems continue to put a strain on and irretrievably threaten global forest ecosystems. Global forest health is declining due to climate change, air pollution and increased human activities. Protecting and monitoring the health of forest ecosystems is a vital resource management function. The technological development in the field of remote sensing provides new tools and automated solutions for forest health monitoring. An effective web-based forest health monitoring platform can contribute to ecological, social, and economic aspects. This study aims to design rapid and automated workflows (Spatial Models-SMs) for time-series forest health monitoring with flexible parameterization and user-friendly interfaces ready for feeding WPS web-GIS platforms. Those include: i) SMs that ingest available time-series data and perform preprocessing activities, ii) SMs that calculate time-series of vegetation, soil and water indices from multispectral optical imagery, iii) SMs that create colored composite images from image algebra and SAR polarizations and vi) SMs that extract change detection maps from time-series SAR data. The study area is located in the wider region of the Mouzaki, Greece, where various types of forest species can be found. Sentinel-1 & 2 data were used while the ERDAS IMAGINE software was utilized for the design of the SMs. The results indicate the potential of the designed SMs to feed WPS web- GIS platforms promptly and efficiently.