An Approach to Mapping Forest Growth Stages in Queensland, Australia through Integration of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat Sensor Data
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- In addition to early-stage regrowth, remnant (mature) and intermediate stages with brigalow as a component could be differentiated using ALOS PALSAR data in combination with Landsat-derived FPC.
- Acceptable accuracies for mapping regrowth extent and progressive stages of structural development could be achieved, with potential application across the entire BBB.
2. Study Site
3. Available Data
3.1. Field Data
3.2. Remote Sensing Data
4. Methods
4.1. Structural Characteristics of Regrowth Stages
4.2. Characterising Regrowth from Remote Sensing Data
4.3. Approach to Regrowth Mapping
- Early-stage The backscatter of the object was not significantly greater than that of early-stage regrowth at HH- and HV-polarisation (zRg,HH < 2∩zRg,HV < 2), with this corresponding to the area shaded red in Figure 3.
- Remnant The backscatter of the object was not significantly less than that of remnant vegetation at HH- and HV-polarisation (zRm,HH > −2 ∩ zRm,HV > −2), with this corresponding to the area shaded green in Figure 3.
- Intermediate Assigned to all objects not classified as regrowth or remnant, with this corresponding to the area shaded blue in Figure 3.
5. Results
5.1. Validation
6. Discussion
- Regenerating forests may remain “locked-up” for many decades before events (e.g., fire or thinning) allow structural development to occur; hence, older forests may have similar characteristics as young regrowth which leads to age being an unreliable indicator of growth stage.
- Reference distributions for each channel can be adapted depending on the users definition of growth stage.
- The thresholds chosen for the z-scores can be varied to reduce commission or omission errors, based on mapping requirements. Whilst the same is true of backscatter thresholds, the use of z-scores considers the probability that the object is part of the same reference distribution.
7. Summary and Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
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RE | Description |
---|---|
11.4.3 | A. harpophylla and/or C. cristata shrubby open-forest on Cainozoic clay plains |
11.4.7 | Eucalyptus populnea with A. harpophylla and/or C. cristata open-forest to woodland on Cainozoic clay plains |
11.4.10 | E. populnea or E. woollsiana, A. harpophylla, C. cristata open-forest to woodland on margins of Cainozoic clay plains |
11.3.1 | A. harpophylla and/or C. cristata open-forest on alluvial plains |
11.9.5 | A. harpophylla and/or C. cristata open-forest on fine-grained sedimentary rocks |
(a) Maximum-likelihood classification | ||||
Age Class | ||||
Classification | 0–15 years | 16–60 years | >60 years | User |
Regrowth | 7.6 | 5.1 | 1.5 | 53.3% |
Intermediate | 1.4 | 13.3 | 15.6 | 43.8% |
Remnant | 0.0 | 2.8 | 52.5 | 94.9% |
Producer | 83.7% | 62.8% | 75.4% | 73.4% |
(b) Significance-based classification | ||||
Age Class | ||||
Classification | 0–15 years | 16–60 years | >60 years | User |
Regrowth | 7.8 | 5.8 | 2.0 | 50.3% |
Intermediate | 1.2 | 12.3 | 16.1 | 41.6% |
Remnant | 0.1 | 3.1 | 51.7 | 94.3% |
Producer | 86.0% | 58.2% | 74.1% | 71.8% |
Share and Cite
Clewley, D.; Lucas, R.; Accad, A.; Armston, J.; Bowen, M.; Dwyer, J.; Pollock, S.; Bunting, P.; McAlpine, C.; Eyre, T.; et al. An Approach to Mapping Forest Growth Stages in Queensland, Australia through Integration of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat Sensor Data. Remote Sens. 2012, 4, 2236-2255. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs4082236
Clewley D, Lucas R, Accad A, Armston J, Bowen M, Dwyer J, Pollock S, Bunting P, McAlpine C, Eyre T, et al. An Approach to Mapping Forest Growth Stages in Queensland, Australia through Integration of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat Sensor Data. Remote Sensing. 2012; 4(8):2236-2255. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs4082236
Chicago/Turabian StyleClewley, Daniel, Richard Lucas, Arnon Accad, John Armston, Michiala Bowen, John Dwyer, Sandy Pollock, Peter Bunting, Clive McAlpine, Teresa Eyre, and et al. 2012. "An Approach to Mapping Forest Growth Stages in Queensland, Australia through Integration of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat Sensor Data" Remote Sensing 4, no. 8: 2236-2255. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs4082236
APA StyleClewley, D., Lucas, R., Accad, A., Armston, J., Bowen, M., Dwyer, J., Pollock, S., Bunting, P., McAlpine, C., Eyre, T., Kelly, A., Carreiras, J., & Moghaddam, M. (2012). An Approach to Mapping Forest Growth Stages in Queensland, Australia through Integration of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat Sensor Data. Remote Sensing, 4(8), 2236-2255. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs4082236