Mapping short-rotation plantations at regional scale using MODIS time series: Case of eucalypt plantations in Brazil

• DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2014.05.015
• Publication Date: 2014-06-25T02:15:30Z
• Authors: Guerric le Maire; Stéphane Dupuy; Yann Nouvellon; Rodolfo Araujo Loos; Rodrigo Hakamada
• Keywords: [SDV.SA.SF]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Silviculture; 791; Mining time series data; F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture; télédétection; rotation de coupe; Vegetation indices; [SDV.SA.SF]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Silviculture, forestry; méthode statistique; imagerie multispectrale; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_6498; Eucalyptus; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_28158; U10 - Informatique, mathématiques et statistiques; forestry; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_14093; Time series pattern analysis; MOD13Q1; phénologie; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1070; Subsequence matching; Fast-growing plantations; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_6365; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2683; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7377; cycle du carbone; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_24420; satellite; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_28066; cycle hydrologique; bois à pâte; Pattern recognition; Bounding Envelope; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3048; Eucalypt; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_36765; bois de charpente; 15. Life on land; plantation forestière; croissance; K10 - Production forestière; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_11670; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_5774; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3394; 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; impact sur l'environnement; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_17299; U30 - Méthodes de recherche; Landsat

article i nfo Short-rotation plantations are extending worldwide due to the increased demand for pulp and wood. Reliable es- timations of recent expansion of short-rotation plantation areas and associated land use changes are a prerequisite to assess their environmental impact on regional carbon and water cycles, and on climate. A binary classification methodology using MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 16-day 250 m NDVI time series was developed and applied to classify Eucalyptus plantations across Brazil. The identification of Eucalyptus planta- tionsspecificpatternsinthetimeserieswasbasedonthecalculationofmatchingfunctionsbetweentheNDVItime series and a ~2 years long reference time series. Among the seven tested matching functions, the bounding enve- lope was the most successful. This method was robust to residual noise on the NDVI time series, and a threshold coefficient for the binary classification was adjusted using an omission-commission criteria. With this method, it was possible to detect any presence of Eucalyptus between 2003 and 2009 at monthly time-steps, including the periods of bare soils between two rotations that are typically 6-7 years long. The dates of first afforestation, of clear-cut at the end of a rotation, and of re-planting at the beginning of a new rotation were retrieved from the NDVI time series with a precision of ~66 days. The final almost continuous tri-dimensional map (space and time) was validated with three different datasets, from local to regional data. All three datasets gave similarly high global accuracy statistics, but a global underestimation of Eucalyptus areas compared to large scales census was observed. Discrepancies and way to improve the Eucalyptus area estimates were discussed in this study. The developed methodology could be applied to other short-rotation tree plantations.