Manuscript Title:

SPATIAL FOREST HEALTH MONITORING USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUE: A CASE STUDY OF CHANGA MANGA FOREST, PAKISTAN

Author:

MUHAMMAD ASAD, NALAIN E MUHAMMAD, MUHAMMAD SAFDAR, MUHAMMAD JEHANZEB MASUD CHEEMA, HAMZA FAROOQ GABRIEL, UZAIR ABBAS, REHAN MEHMOOD SABIR

DOI Number:

DOI:10.5281/zenodo.13744041

Published : 2024-09-10

About the author(s)

1. MUHAMMAD ASAD - Department of Irrigation & Drainage, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
2. NALAIN E MUHAMMAD - Department of Irrigation & Drainage, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Department of Water Resources Engineering and Management, NICE, NUST, Islamabad.
3. MUHAMMAD SAFDAR - Department of Irrigation & Drainage, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Agricultural Remote Sensing Lab (ARSL), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
4. MUHAMMAD JEHANZEB MASUD CHEEMA - Department of Irrigation & Drainage, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
5. HAMZA FAROOQ GABRIEL - Department of Water Resources Engineering and Management, NICE, NUST, Islamabad.
6. UZAIR ABBAS - Agricultural Remote Sensing Lab (ARSL), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
7. REHAN MEHMOOD SABIR - Department of Irrigation & Drainage, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Agricultural Remote Sensing Lab (ARSL), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

Full Text : PDF

Abstract

Forests play a significant role in the healthy environment of a country. Global warming, climate change, and human activities are affecting the forest cover of Pakistan. Moreover, overall forest health is also deteriorating. It is very tough to measure and monitor forest health by field survey. Forest healthdamage which is affected by water stress, different diseases, and other causes is mostly and easily observable from long distances. In this research study, we have investigated forested areas byalternative ways of making spatial forest maps by using remote sensing and GIS tools. Satellite images of July 2018 from Sentinel-2 have been used for this research study. Firstly, a forest cover map is made and evaluated by classification of Changa Manga (total area 52.7km2) Forest. Forest health is assessed using Vegetation Indices (VIs), which use specific relationships to distinguish changes in greenness, water content, and light use efficiency of the forest. After Evaluating NDVI, NDWI, and NDPI,we have 54.69%, 53.76%, and 42.45% area was healthy forest respectively. Then unhealthy forests cover 44.98%, 38.99%, and 50.21% of the area respectively. These vegetation indexes use reflectance at different wavelength bands. Different GIS tools for data acquisition were used and spatial maps of forest health were constructed for visual understanding. Our results will help forest agencies carry out necessaryreforestation plans and manage standing forests more effectively.


Keywords

Forest Health, NDVI. NDWI, NDPI