Algorithm for detecting deforestation and forest degradation using vegetation indices

Detecting creeping thistle in sugar beet fields using vegetation indices

In this article, we address the problem of thistle detection in sugar beet fields under natural, outdoor conditions. In our experiments, we used a commercial color camera and extracted vegetation indices from the images. A total of 474 field images of sugar beet and thistles were collected and divided into six different groups based on illumination, scale and age. The feature set was made up of...

Deforestation and Forest Degradation: Concerns, Causes, Policies, and Their Impacts

Mapping Deforestation and Forest Degradation Patterns in Western Himalaya, Pakistan

The Himalayan mountain forest ecosystem has been degrading since the British ruled the area in the 1850s. Local understanding of the patterns and processes of degradation is desperately required to devise management strategies to halt this degradation and provide long-term sustainability. This work comprises a satellite image based study in combination with national expert validation to generat...

Automated mapping of tropical deforestation and forest degradation: CLASlite

Monitoring deforestation and forest degradation is central to assessing changes in carbon storage, biodiversity, and many other ecological processes in tropical regions. Satellite remote sensing is the most accurate and cost-effective way to monitor changes in forest cover and degradation over large geographic areas, but the tools and methods have been highly manual and time consuming, often re...

High density biomass estimation: Testing the utility of Vegetation Indices and the Random Forest Regression algorithm

Accurate estimates of wetland above ground biomass (AGB) have increasingly been identified as a critical component for an efficient wetland monitoring and management system. Multispectral remote sensing based indices have proven inadequate in estimating biomass especially at high canopy density. In this study we investigated the use of vegetation indices derived from field hyperspectral data to...