Why is this important?

In the face of climate change and increasing pressure on forest ecosystems, precise monitoring of forest structure has become crucial for sustainable forest management and nature conservation. This study, conducted in the Białowieża Forest (Białowieża Forest District), compares the effectiveness of two remote sensing technologies—Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) and Digital Aerial Photogrammetry (DAP)—in detecting and analyzing forest gaps.

Gaps in the forest stand are an essential indicator of forest dynamics, reflecting both natural processes and disturbances caused by external factors such as bark beetle outbreaks. The analysis results showed that ALS provides more comprehensive and precise information about forest structure compared to DAP. During the analyzed period (2015–2022), ALS data identified 27,754 new gaps, while DAP data detected 23,502. The most significant differences were observed in the small gap category (below 500 m²), where ALS data demonstrated significantly higher detection precision than DAP.

Key findings:

✅ ALS ensures higher precision in detecting and measuring gaps, especially in shaded areas where DAP has limited effectiveness (e.g., in images taken at low sun angles).
✅ DAP tends to generalize gap shapes.
✅ Both methods confirm an increase in the number and total area of forest gaps in the analyzed period, suggesting ongoing changes in forest structure.

What does this mean for practice?

Advanced remote sensing technologies enable effective monitoring of changes in forest ecosystems and support management decisions, such as stand regeneration planning. ALS, due to its higher precision, is particularly useful for monitoring complex ecosystems, while DAP, despite being more cost-effective, provides less accurate information on the presence and characteristics of gaps.

We encourage you to read the full article! Learn more by clicking the link: MDPI.