Search Results (3)

The persistent increase in forest pest outbreaks requires timely detection methods to monitor the disaster precisely. However, early detection is challenging due to insufficient temporal observation and subtle tree changes. This article proposed a novel framework that collaborates multi-source remote sensing data and uses a change detection algorithm to archive early detection of infestation caused by Dendrolimus tabulaeformis Tsai et Liu (D. tabulaeformis) attacks. First, all available Sentinel-2 images with less than 20% cloud cover were utilized. During periods with long intervals (>16 days) between Sentinel-2 images, Landsat-8 images with less than 20% cloud cover were downscaled to a spatial resolution of 10 m using a deep learning algorithm to meet the requirement for a high temporal frequency of clear observations. Second, the spectral index differences between healthy and infested trees were examined to address the challenge of detecting subtle changes in pest attacks. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) was selected for early defoliation detection. On this basis, the EWMACD (Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Change Detection) algorithm, which is sensitive to subtle changes, was enhanced to improve the capability of detecting early D. tabulaeformis attacks. The assessment showed that the overall accuracy of the change detection (F1 score) reached 0.86 during the early stage and 0.88 during the late stage. The temporal accuracy (Precision) was 84.1% during the early stage. The accuracy significantly improved compared to using a single remote sensing data source. This study presents a new framework capable of monitoring early forest defoliation caused by D. tabulaeformis attacks and offering opportunities for predicting future outbreaks and implementing preventive measures. Full article

Access to temporally dense time series such as data from the Landsat and Sentinel-2 missions has lead to an increase in methods which aim to monitor land cover change on a per-acquisition rather than a yearly basis. Evaluating the accuracy and limitations of these methods can be difficult because validation data are limited and often rely on human interpretation. Simulated time series offer an objective method for evaluating and comparing between change detection algorithms. A set of simulated time series was used to evaluate four change detection methods: (1) Breaks for Additive and Seasonal Trend (BFAST); (2) BFAST Monitor; (3) Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC); and (4) Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Change Detection (EWMACD). In total, 151,200 simulations were generated to represent a range of abrupt, gradual, and seasonal changes. EWMACD was found to give the best performance overall, correctly identifying the true date of change in 76.6% of cases. CCDC performed worst (51.8%). BFAST performed well overall but correctly identified less than 10% of seasonal changes (changes in amplitude, length of season, or number of seasons). All methods showed some decrease in performance with increased noise and missing data, apart from BFAST Monitor which improved when data were removed. The following recommendations are made as a starting point for future studies: EWMACD should be used for detection of lower magnitude changes and changes in seasonality; CCDC should be used for robust detection of complete land cover class changes; EWMACD and BFAST are suitable for noisy datasets, depending on the application; and CCDC should be used where there are high quantities of missing data. The simulated datasets have been made freely available online as a foundation for future work. Full article

Remote detection of forest disturbance remains a key area of interest for scientists and land managers. Subtle disturbances such as drought, disease, insect activity, and thinning harvests have a significant impact on carbon budgeting and forest productivity, but current change detection algorithms struggle to accurately identify them, especially over decadal timeframes. We introduce an algorithm called Edyn, which inputs a time series of residuals from harmonic regression into a control chart to signal low-magnitude, consistent deviations from the curve as disturbances. After signaling, Edyn retrains a new baseline curve. We compared Edyn with its parent algorithm (EWMACD—Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Change Detection) on over 3500 visually interpreted Landsat pixels from across the contiguous USA, with reference data for timing and type of disturbance. For disturbed forested pixels, Edyn had a mean per-pixel commission error of 31.1% and omission error of 70.0%, while commission and omission errors for EWMACD were 39.9% and 65.2%, respectively. Edyn had significantly less overall error than EWMACD (F₁ = 0.19 versus F₁ = 0.13). These patterns generally held for all of the reference data, including a direct comparison to other contemporary change detection algorithms, wherein Edyn and EWMACD were found to have lower omission error rates for a category of subtle changes over long periods. Full article