Sentinel-2 Data in an Evaluation of the Impact of the Disturbances on Forest Vegetation

In this article, we investigated the detection of forest vegetation changes during the period of 2017 to 2019 in the Low Tatras National Park (Slovakia) and the Sumava National Park (Czechia) using Sentinel-2 data. The evaluation was based on a time-series analysis using selected vegetation indices. The case studies represented five different areas according to the type of the forest vegetation degradation (one with bark beetle calamity, two areas with forest recovery mode after a bark beetle calamity, and two areas without significant disturbances). The values of the trajectories of the vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference moisture index (NDMI)) and the orthogonal indices (tasseled cap greenness (TCG) and tasseled cap wetness (TCW)) were analyzed and validated by in situ data and aerial photographs. The results confirm the abilities of the NDVI, the NDMI and the TCW to distinguish disturbed and undisturbed areas. The NDMI vegetation index was particularly useful for the detection of the disturbed forest and forest recovery after bark beetle outbreaks and provided relevant information regarding the health of the forest (the individual stages of the disturbances and recovery mode). On the contrary, the TCG index demonstrated only limited abilities. The TCG could distinguish healthy forest and the gray-attack disturbance phase; however, it was difficult to use this index for detecting different recovery phases and to distinguish recovery phases from healthy forest. The areas affected by the disturbances had lower values of NDVI and NDMI indices (NDVI quartile range Q₂–Q₃: 0.63–0.71; NDMI Q₂–Q₃: 0.10–0.19) and the TCW index had negative values (Q₂–Q₃: -0.06–-0.05)). The analysis was performed with a cloud-based tool—Sentinel Hub. Cloud-based technologies have brought a new dimension in the processing and analysis of satellite data and allowed satellite data to be brought to end-users in the forestry sector. The Copernicus program and its data from Sentinel missions have evoked new opportunities in the application of satellite data. The usage of Sentinel-2 data in the research of long-term forest vegetation changes has a high relevance and perspective due to the free availability, distribution, and well-designed spectral, temporal, and spatial resolution of the Sentinel-2 data for monitoring forest ecosystems.