163
This study explores whether the selected paratmeters, quantified using openacess remote sensing data, can be used as a sufficient, flexible and comparable
meassure of ecosystem integrity quantification. Part of the approach is testing an
appropriate method of data aggreagtion, which would allow simple, yet informative
landscape assessment, which is most desired in conditions of limited personal and
material resources (CBD 2003).
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Study Area
Protected Landscape Area (PLA) Třeboňsko is a site of significant natural value and
a biospherical reserve in southern Bohemia (49°0′0,62″N, 14°50′7,79″E, approx.
700 km
2
). It has been given the status of protected landscape area in 1979 and
acknowledgend as a biospherical reserve in 1977. Třeboňsko is a lowland with over
400 lakes, primarily used for fish production. Besides fisheries, significant sectors
comprise forestry and agriculture. Despite being a protected area, Třeboňsko is a
completely man-made landscape created by draining extensive swamps and mires
during the middle ages. Třeboňsko has therefore a significant natural as well as
cultural and historical value.
2.2 Remote Sensing
Two sources of remote sensing data were utilized in the study: Landsat 8 (United
States Geological Survey) and Sentinel-2 (European Space Agency). Landsat 8 provides multispectral as well as thermal measurements in 30 m resolution, while
Sentinel-2 provides multispectral measurements only, but in considerably higher
resolution (10–20 m). Both instruments provide comparable meaurements of vegetation photosynthetic performance (Roy et al. 2014; Castaldi et al. 2016; van der
Werff and van der Meer 2016; Chrysafis et al. 2017).
Sentinel-2 (S-2) multi-spectral sensor is particularily suitable for assessing
vegetation photosynthetic characteristics using the the so-called “vegetation
indices” (Delegido et al. 2011; Krofcheck et al. 2016; Vincini et al. 2016). S-2 has
been successfully used in agriculture (Vincini et al. 2016; Immitzer et al. 2016),
forestry (Schumacher et al. 2016; Majasalmi and Rautiainen 2016), soil assessment
(Poggio and Gimona 2016) and geology (van der Werff and van der Meer 2016;
Castaldi et al. 2016; Forkuor et al. 2017).
Landsat 8 (L8) measurements have similar utility to S-2, but with lower spatial
(30 m for multi-spectral and 100 m for thermal) as well as temporal resolution
(there are two S-2 units—S2A and S2B with a 5 day revisit time at the equator; L8
Evaluation of Ecological Integrity in Landscape Based on Remote Sensing Data
This study explores whether the selected paratmeters, quantified using openacess remote sensing data, can be used as a sufficient, flexible and comparable
meassure of ecosystem integrity quantification. Part of the approach is testing an
appropriate method of data aggreagtion, which would allow simple, yet informative
landscape assessment, which is most desired in conditions of limited personal and
material resources (CBD 2003).
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Study Area
Protected Landscape Area (PLA) Třeboňsko is a site of significant natural value and
a biospherical reserve in southern Bohemia (49°0′0,62″N, 14°50′7,79″E, approx.
700 km
2
). It has been given the status of protected landscape area in 1979 and
acknowledgend as a biospherical reserve in 1977. Třeboňsko is a lowland with over
400 lakes, primarily used for fish production. Besides fisheries, significant sectors
comprise forestry and agriculture. Despite being a protected area, Třeboňsko is a
completely man-made landscape created by draining extensive swamps and mires
during the middle ages. Třeboňsko has therefore a significant natural as well as
cultural and historical value.
2.2 Remote Sensing
Two sources of remote sensing data were utilized in the study: Landsat 8 (United
States Geological Survey) and Sentinel-2 (European Space Agency). Landsat 8 provides multispectral as well as thermal measurements in 30 m resolution, while
Sentinel-2 provides multispectral measurements only, but in considerably higher
resolution (10–20 m). Both instruments provide comparable meaurements of vegetation photosynthetic performance (Roy et al. 2014; Castaldi et al. 2016; van der
Werff and van der Meer 2016; Chrysafis et al. 2017).
Sentinel-2 (S-2) multi-spectral sensor is particularily suitable for assessing
vegetation photosynthetic characteristics using the the so-called “vegetation
indices” (Delegido et al. 2011; Krofcheck et al. 2016; Vincini et al. 2016). S-2 has
been successfully used in agriculture (Vincini et al. 2016; Immitzer et al. 2016),
forestry (Schumacher et al. 2016; Majasalmi and Rautiainen 2016), soil assessment
(Poggio and Gimona 2016) and geology (van der Werff and van der Meer 2016;
Castaldi et al. 2016; Forkuor et al. 2017).
Landsat 8 (L8) measurements have similar utility to S-2, but with lower spatial
(30 m for multi-spectral and 100 m for thermal) as well as temporal resolution
(there are two S-2 units—S2A and S2B with a 5 day revisit time at the equator; L8
Evaluation of Ecological Integrity in Landscape Based on Remote Sensing Data