engleski

Assessing tree damage in urban areas using remote sensing methods

By the rapid development and expansion of urban areas and the increasing share of the population living in urban areas, the preservation and protection of green areas becomes increasingly important. Green areas, especially forests, in cities positively affect the environment by acting on microclimate. The forests in the area of Zagreb, which over time have taken on the characteristics of park- forests, have great natural value for centuries present in these areas. But the current state of park-forests requires urgent action in order to maintain at least at the current level. Due to the increasing changes of status of forests in urban areas, it is necessary conduct more frequent research, in order to better study, control and, if possible, prevent damage. Regeneration and care procedures need to be carry out, and to maintain the forest in optimum condition, in order to perform all the functions of general benefit. In urban areas, it is particularly important that the health status of trees is timely predicted, so that sick trees can be removed and replaced by new ones. Otherwise, a sudden drying of the tree or part of it may occur, breakage of larger branches, demolition of trees during the storm, and so on. In such situations, comes to big damages to the roofs, cars, electrical and telephone lines, and often people are injured. In order to better monitoring the state of trees, it is necessary to carry out the inventory of the damage. So far, mostly terrestrial observations have be carried out, while, now, remote sensing methods are increasingly being used, especially interpretation of color infrared (CIR) photographs obtained from aircraft or dron, and the new generation of high-resolution satellite images. By interpreting color infrared aerial photographs as well as satellite images we can quickly and with minimal time spent on field work, with high reliability of the results obtained, to make inventory of damage on a large number of trees. It is also possible to predict the health status of trees several years in advance, while changes are not yet visible to the human eye. The survey covered park- forests in Zagreb. The interpretation of health status on WorldView 2 satellite imagery, by creating thematic maps of spatial distribution of damage and the validation of field conditions provided the results that present the current state of health, and are the basis for monitoring and forecasting the future state.

health status of trees, inventorying, prediction, remote sensing, urban areas

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