High Resolution Satellite Imagery for Forestry Studies: the Beechwood of the Pordenone Mountains (italy)

In this paper we used high resolution satellite imagery in order to study the Pordenone Mountain forests (Friuli Venezia Giulia North-East of Italy). Our aim is to develop a method able to estimate wood biomass using a vegetation index (NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). In order to do this we analysed a Quickbird satellite image, dated 24 June 2003, and we compared our results with biomass data in weight, cut from two small forest areas. The adopted methodology is subdivided in two principal stages: 1. Checking of the precision of the traditional forestry methods in order to estimate the weight of the wood biomass. These methods use dendrometric tablets to estimate wood biomass from measured tree diameters and heights. This stage is developed in the following steps: a. Identification of two small testing areas (around 300m) in the beechwood. This forestall typology is the most common in this territory. b. Collection of some forestry information (height and diameter of plants). c. Cutting of all the timbers in the two training areas. The cutting operation has been realized soon after the acquisition of the satellite image. d. Weighing of the cut logs and of the leaves. e. Estimation of the wood biomass using some different dendrometric tablets. f. Comparison of the biomass weighted data with the tablet-estimated values, in order to verify the precision of the standard forestry methodology. 2. Analysis of the correlation between NDVI and weighted wood biomass. This stage is developed in the following steps: a. Rectification of the Quickbird scene. b. Analysis of the correlation between NDVI values and weighted biomass data (cut logs and leaves). Further developments of this research will employ dendrometric tablet estimated biomass values and NDVI values to improve their relationship. When the correlation will be enough satisfying, only the NDVI values will be used to estimate beechwood biomass.