FOREST AND
BIODIVERSITY MAPPING OF WORLD HERTITAGE SITE BIALOWIEZA FOREST
Bialowieza
primeval forest is the only fragment of natural deciduous and mixed
forest
in the European
lowland. The forest has an outstanding biological value and is on
UNESCO’s
World
Heritage Site.
By the use of
Landsat TM data a methodology was developed to
separate
various
types of
old forest stands and by the use of biodiversity filters and
the
forest
administrative
grid forest of
high conservation
value was found
in the
production forest. The methodology has later been used under a GMES service
element for a national mapping of old forest in Denmark.
Plotting of woodpeckers with preferred habitats of high content of dead wood
showed a clear co-occurrence with forest compartments with high diversity of old
forests.
The result is
now used for planning of
protected areas and is used
for further
modelling of biodiversity within the forest.
The
experience from this ground-breaking study is now used in other countries to map
forest of conservation priority.
Client:
Birdlife Denmark / Aage V. Jensen Foundation
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