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Informativeness of the Spectral and Morphometric Characteristics of the Canopy-Gap Structure Based on Remote Sensing Data

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Abstract

The differences in morphometric features of the canopy-gap structure of the three dominant forest types in the Valuevsky Forest Park were investigated with high-resolution and detailed-resolution remote sensing data. The forest-community groups (deciduous forest with a predominance of lime, deciduous forest with a predominance of birch or aspen, and coniferous forest with a predominance of spruce or pine) were classified according to the random forest method based on Sentinel-2/MSI multispectral satellite images. The better classificaton accuracy was 0.96 (k = 0.88). The Sentinel-2 data were used to create a layer of segments: spectrally homogeneous forest parcels. The forest gaps were obtained via cluster analysis with Resurs-P1 Geoton panchromatic data and visual interpretation of the clusters. Eight morphometric parameters were calculated for each gap. The differences were analyzed at the segment level (the Mann–Whitney U-test) and for all gap sets of each forest-community group (the Kruskal–Wallis H-test). The highest U-test values for the average values of morphometric features at the level of forest-community segments were obtained for the gap area (U = 24), gap perimeter (U = 19.3), gap-shape complexity index (U = 19.0), and the ratio of the perimeter to the gap area (U = 18.7). The highest values of the H-test at the level of individual gaps were calculated for the fractal dimension of the gap (H = 2229.2), the ratio of the perimeter to gap area (H = 2064.9), and the gap area (H = 1718.4). Analysis of the calculated and published data made it possible to find the possible reasons for the differences in the gap structure and gap parameters of coniferous, small-leaved, and lime communities of the model territory.

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Funding

The research was carried out within the framework of the state contract with Center for Forest Ecology and Productivity, Russian Academy of Sciences, no. АААА-А18-118052590019-7, and the field studies were financed by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 16-17-10284.

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  1. Center for Forest Ecology and Productivity, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997, Moscow, Russia

    A. V. Komarov, D. V. Ershov & E. V. Tikhonova

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  1. A. V. Komarov
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  2. D. V. Ershov
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  3. E. V. Tikhonova
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Correspondence to A. V. Komarov.

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Translated by M. Shulskaya

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Komarov, A.V., Ershov, D.V. & Tikhonova, E.V. Informativeness of the Spectral and Morphometric Characteristics of the Canopy-Gap Structure Based on Remote Sensing Data. Contemp. Probl. Ecol. 14, 733–742 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995425521070076

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