Mapping stem volume in fast-growing eucalypt plantations: integrating spectral, textural, and temporal remote sensing information with forest inventories and spatial models

Key message

Accurate volume estimation in Eucalyptus plantation stands was achieved by a linear model using SPOT and Landsat multispectral imagery, specifically texture indices and pixel-scale NDVI time integrals, which reflect the local plantation growth history. Spatial modelling techniques such as Kriging with External Drift and Generalized Additive Model slightly improved predictions by accounting for spatial correlation of volume between sample points.

Keywords
Geostatistics; Vegetation indices; Time series; Texture; Kriging with External Drift (KED); Generalized additive model (GAM); Fast-growing plantations

Publication
Aló, L.L., le Maire, G., Thiersch, C.R. et al. Mapping stem volume in fast-growing eucalypt plantations: integrating spectral, textural, and temporal remote sensing information with forest inventories and spatial models. Annals of Forest Science 81, 43 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-024-01255-6

Data and/or Code availability
The data cannot be made available in a public repository due to proprietary issues. Data sharing agreement can be set up upon request.
The custom code and/or software application generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Handling Editor
Matteo Vizzari