Category Archives: Research Papers

New Open Access research paper from Forest Research Institute (FVA), Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Melanie Kirchhoefer, Johannes Schumacher and Petra Adler have recently informed us of the publication of their research paper “Potential of remote sensing-based forest attribute models for harmonising large-scale forest inventories on regional level: a case study in Southwest Germany” in the Annals of Forest Science, 76:33.

Melanie and her colleagues at the Department of Biometry and Informatics, Forest Research Institute (FVA) in Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg i. Br, Germany have been developing methods to support large scale forest inventories using aerial images. While this paper reports on the study based in south-west Germany, the authors describe how the methods may be transferred to large scale inventories in other areas and supporting harmonisation of large-scale forest inventories within the study region.  This link is for online reading the article: https://rdcu.be/buspH 

 

Potential of Sentinel-2A Data to Model Surface and Canopy Fuel Characteristics in Relation to Crown Fire Hazard

This Open Access paper is from Juan Gabriel Alvarez Gonzalez and co-authors from the University of Santiago de Compostela. The focus is on forest crown fires, which can have serious impacts on soil, vegetation, and wildlife habitats. Fire managers try to prevent the initiation and spread of crown fires in forested landscapes through fuel management. The paper proposes that medium resolution imagery and machine learning techniques may add valuable information about surface and canopy fuel variables at large scales, whereby crown fire potential and the potential type of wildfire can be classified. To access the paper go to https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/10/10/1645

Natura 2000 sites, public forests and riparian corridors: The connectivity backbone of forest green infrastructure

New paper from DIABOLO partner Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and others, published April, 2018 in “Land Use Policy”.  The paper discusses connectivity in protected areas and presents the Natura 2000 network as an example. he authors argue that protected areas have good connectivity conditions compared to unprotected lands. Key findings are: Riparian forests are crucial for connectivity across agricultural landscapes; public forest lands qualify as an effective area-based connectivity conservation measure; conservation and restoration priorities are segregated in landscapes with very different land uses; a wide-scale integrated perspective is needed for land use and Natura 2000 planning in Europe. Go to http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/9/3/129/htm