Mapping forest disturbance using long time series of Sentinel-1 data: Case studies over boreal and tropical forests

Oleg Antropov, Yrjö Rauste, Anne Väänänen, Teemu Mutanen, Tuomas Häme

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference article in proceedingsScientificpeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Clear-cutting and logging operations are the most drastic and wide-spread changes that affects the hydrological and carbon-balance properties of forested areas. A long time series of Sentinel-1 images are used to study the potential for mapping logged areas in areas in boreal zone region and in tropical forest. In the first case study in southern Finland, the time series covered a full year starting in October 2014, in 200km-by-200-km study site. The Sentinel-1 images were acquired in Interferometric Wide-swath (IW), dualpolarized mode (VV+VH). All scenes were acquired in the same orbit configuration. In the second case study the potential of Sentinel-1 time series for mapping logged areas was studied over tropical forest in Mexico. Acquisitions were made in the time frame between November 2014 and September 2015. The temporal behavior of the C-band backscatter was studied for areas representing: 1) areas clear-cut during the acquisition of the Sentinel-1 time-series, 2) areas remaining forest during the acquisition of the Sentinel-1 time-series, and 3) areas that had been clear-cut before the acquisition of the Sentinel-1 time-series. Algorithms for mapping the spatial extent of logged areas were developed and tested, showing potential of long time series of Sentinel-1 data for successful delineation of clear-cuts despite high sensitivity to seasonal and weather conditions.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationGeoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2016 IEEE International
    PublisherIEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
    Pages3906-3909
    Number of pages4
    ISBN (Electronic)978-1-5090-3332-4, 978-1-5090-3331-7
    ISBN (Print)978-1-5090-3333-1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 3 Nov 2016
    MoE publication typeA4 Article in a conference publication
    Event36th IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium: Advancing the understanding of our living planet - Beijing, China
    Duration: 10 Jul 201615 Jul 2016
    Conference number: 36

    Conference

    Conference36th IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
    Abbreviated titleIGARSS
    Country/TerritoryChina
    CityBeijing
    Period10/07/1615/07/16

    Keywords

    • C-band
    • forestry
    • selective logging
    • sentinel-1
    • synthetic aperture radar

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