Methodology for forest loss assessment using GIS technologies

Authors

  • Stanislav Horelyk National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation Institute", Chkalova St., 17, 61070, Kharkiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3640-2787
  • Denys Saul-Hoze National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation Institute", Chkalova St., 17, 61070, Kharkiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9505-2518
  • Roman Sych National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation Institute", Chkalova St., 17, 61070, Kharkiv, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36023/ujrs.2023.10.2.237

Keywords:

Forest cutting, NDVI index, GIS technologies, Sentinel-2, orthophotomap, interpretation, ArcGIS

Abstract

One of the environmental problems in Ukraine is the illegal use of forest resources, specifically unauthorized forest logging. According to the State Forest Resources Agency, the volumes of forest violations reach tens, and sometimes thousands, of cubic meters of timber per year. Therefore, an important task is to accurately determine the areas of illegal logging. There are many methods for identifying this violation, which can be divided into two main groups: contact and remote sensing methods. Contact methods allow for on-site determination of the fact of illegal forest logging, but they require significant material and time costs. Among the available contact data, it is worth mentioning the open Register of permits for timber harvesting and the "Public Cadastral Map" geospatial portal, which allows for determining the legality of logging activities. Remote sensing data enable the localization of deforestation areas and the determination of their geometric characteristics with minimal time and material costs, but they have a number of drawbacks associated with weather conditions and the ambiguous interpretation of satellite-based research methods. Combining contact and remote sensing data with subsequent analysis is advisable using geoinformation systems and technologies. Geoinformation technologies allow for the rapid processing of large volumes of contact and remote sensing data, the creation of cartographic models for their further analysis and interpretation. Therefore, the comprehensive use of contact and remote sensing research methods will enable the prompt identification of deforested areas, determination of their geometric characteristics, and their legality. The developed methodology for identifying forest logging using GIS technologies involves the comprehensive use of open data from public portals on the availability of logging permits, satellite images from the Sentinel-2 satellite, and ArcGIS software with spatial analysis tools from ArcToolbox. The practical implementation of the developed methodology was carried out for the entire Kharkiv region. A total of 3,299 instances of logging were identified, of which 1,977 were carried out between 2008 and 2021. During the same period, 648 instances of logging without permits were determined.

References

Andrieiev, S.M., Horelyk, S.I., Nechausov, A.S., Saul-Hoze, D.K. (2022) Application of geoinformation technologies for building cartographic models of hazardous meteorological phenomena. Systems of Control, Navigation, and Communication, 1(67), 4-12. doi: 10.26906/SUNZ.2022.1.004. (In Ukrainian)

ArcGIS Desktop 10.8.x system requirements – System Requirements | Documentation. (2022). Retrieved from https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/system-requirements/latest/arcgis-desktop-system-requirements.htm.

Basemap layers | Documentation | ArcGIS Developers. (2022). Retrieved from https://developers.arcgis.com/documentation/mapping-apis-and-services/maps/basemap-layers/.

Bhunia, G.S., Shit, P.K., Sengupta, D. (2021) Free-open access geospatial data and tools for forest resources management. In: Shit PK, Pourghasemi HR, Das P, Bhunia GS (eds) Spatial modeling in forest resources management: rural livelihood and sustainable development. 651–675. Springer, Cham,

Copernicus Open Access Hub (2022). Retrieved from https://scihub.copernicus.eu/dhus/#/home.

Copernicus: Sentinel-2. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/copernicus-sentinel-2#copernicus-sentinel-2--the-optical-imaging-mission-for-land-services.

Earth Versions – Google Earth. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/intl/en/earth/versions/.

Jiang, Z., Huete, A., Chen, J., Chen, Y., Li, J., Yan, G., & Zhang, X. (2006). Analysis of NDVI and scaled difference vegetation index retrievals of vegetation fraction. Remote Sensing of Environment, 101(3), 366–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2006.01.003

Landsat 8 | U.S. Geological Survey. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/landsat-missions/landsat-8.

Landsat NASA. (2022,. Landsat 7 | Landsat Science. Landsat Science | a Joint NASA/USGS Earth Observation Program. Retrieved from https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-7/.

Mitchell, A.L., Rosenqvist, A. & Mora, B. (2017). Current remote sensing approaches to monitoring forest degradation in support of countries measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems for REDD+. Carbon Balance Manage 12, 9 doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-017-0078-9

MODIS Web. (2023). Retrieved from https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/.

Nandasena, W.D.K.V., Brabyn, L., Serrao-Neumann, S. (2022). Using Remote Sensing for Sustainable Forest Management in Developing Countries. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38948-2_35-1

Nitoslawski, S. A., Wong-Stevens, K., Steenberg, J. W. N., Witherspoon, K., Nesbitt, L., & Konijnendijk van den Bosch, C. C. (2021). The digital forest: Mapping a decade of knowledge on technological applications for forest ecosystems. Earth's Future, 9, e2021EF002123. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002123

Open Register of Permits for Timber Harvesting. (2022). Retrieved from https://lk.ukrforest.com/forest-tickets/index.

Public Cadastral Map of Ukraine. (2023). Retrieved from https://map.land.gov.ua/

Sakhno, Y. Yu., Tereshchuk, O. I., & Yanchenko, O. P. (2019). Carrying out geosystem monitoring of felling forest near the Chernigiv region. Technical sciences and technologies, 2(16), 181–189. doi: 10.25140/2411-5363-2019-2(16)-181-189 (In Ukrainian)

Sentinel-hub EO-Browser. (2023). Retrieved from https://apps.sentinel-hub.com/eo-browser/.

Shumilo, L., Yailymov, B., Lavreniuk, M., & Bilokonska, Y. (2020). Remote Sensing Approaches for Deforestation Identification in Ukraine. (2020) IEEE 5th International Symposium on Smart and Wireless Systems Within the Conferences on Intelligent Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems (IDAACS-SWS). doi:10.1109/idaacs-sws50031.2020.9297054

State Forest Resources Agency. (2022). Protection of forests from illegal logging. Retrieved from https://forest.gov.ua/napryamki-diyalnosti/lisove-gospodarstvo/ohorona-i-zahist-lisiv/ohorona-lisiv-vid-nezakonnih-rubok.

Yan Gao, Margaret Skutsch, Jaime Paneque-Gálvez and Adrian Ghilardi (2020) Remote sensing of forest degradation: a review. Environmental Research Letters, 15, 103001, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/abaad7

Downloads

Published

2023-06-29

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2023)

Section

Earth observation data applications: Challenges and tasks

License

Licensing conditions: the authors retain their copyrights and grant the journal the right of first publication of a work, simultaneously licensed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution License International CC-BY, which allows you to share the work with proof of authorship of the work and initial publication in this journal.

The authors, directing the manuscript to the editorial office of the Ukrainian Journal of Remote Sensing of the Earth, agree that the editorial board transfers the rights to protection and use of the manuscript (material submitted to the journal editorial board, including such protected copyright objects as photographs of the author, drawings, charts, tables, etc.), including reproduction in print and on the Internet; for distribution; to translate the manuscript into any languages; export and import of copies of the journal with the article of the authors for the purpose of distribution, informing the public. The above rights are transferred by the authors to the editors, without limitation of their validity, and in the territory of all countries of the world without limitation, including in Ukraine.

The authors guarantee that they have exclusive rights to use the submitted material. The editors are not liable to third parties for breach of data by the authors of the guarantees. The authors retain the right to use the published material, its fragments and parts for personal, including scientific and educational purposes. The rights to the manuscript are considered to be transferred by the authors of the editorial board from the moment of the publication of the issue of the journal in which it is published. Reprinting of materials published in the journal by other individuals and legal entities is possible only with the consent of the publisher, with the obligatory indication of the issue of the journal in which the material was published.