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Forest health estimation in Sholayar Reserve Forest, Kerala using AVIRIS-NG hyperspectral data

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Abstract

The present study deals with analyzing forest health, its parameters, and suitability of hyperspectral data for vegetation health-related studies. Sholayar reserve forest in Kerala has a huge reserve of equatorial moist evergreen forest and demands preservation in every respect. Due to increased human interferences coupled with possible climate change, its health is undergoing a stage of deterioration. Stress levels in the canopy were assessed using a number of stress-related pigments. Detailed study of vegetation response to canopy leaf pigments have been carried out in the study. Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) data provides immense possibilities to study a number of stress-related pigments like anthocyanin, carotenoid, lignin, chlorophyll-a, b etc. Dominant species in these forests are Holigarna arnottiana, Grevillea robusta, Grewia tiliifolia, Syzygium cumini, Alstonia Scholaris, Cinnamomum verum, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Bischofia javanica, Mangifera indica, Bombax ceiba, Anogeissus latifolia, Terminalia paniculata etc. Apart from luscious natural vegetation, plantation of teak (Tectona Grandis), rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), tea (Camellia sinensis), Coffee (Coffee Arabica), Palm-Oil tree (Elaeis guineensis) etc. also exists. Field data pertaining to one of the selected pigments was correlated with remotely sensed pigment estimates. Correlation of field measured chlorophyll concentration and EVI showed R2 = 0.421. Similarly, the anthocyanin index showed a correlation of R2 = 0.319. In the Sholayar Reserve Forest (493.0 km2) an area of 141.0 km2 was found to be in a healthy state. Whereas about 218.0 km2 of area exhibit moderately healthy condition and 77.0 km2 area was in the least healthy state.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Space Application Centre (SAC), ISRO (Government of India) for funding this project. Authors are also thankful towards State Forest Department, Government of Kerala for their continuous support throughout the field data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geoinformatics, School of Natural Resource Management, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, 835205, India

    Shahbaz Ahmad, Arvind Chandra Pandey & Amit Kumar

  2. Space Application Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad, 380015, India

    Nikhil V. Lele & Bimal K. Bhattacharya

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  1. Shahbaz Ahmad
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Correspondence to Arvind Chandra Pandey.

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Ahmad, S., Pandey, A.C., Kumar, A. et al. Forest health estimation in Sholayar Reserve Forest, Kerala using AVIRIS-NG hyperspectral data. Spat. Inf. Res. 28, 25–38 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-019-00260-6

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