Windthrows Detection With Satellite Remote Sensing Data: A Comparison Among Sentinel-2, Planet, And Cosmo Sky-Med Data

Abstract

Wind disturbances represent a great source of damage in forests, and an assessment of such damage is very important for adequate forest management. Remote sensing is an effective tool for this purpose and can be used by considering different data sources: active vs passive sensors. While passive sensors can provide a direct view of windthrows, they are often affected by clouds. Active sensors have the significant advantage of not being affected by the presence of clouds which can be prevalent in certain seasons in mountain areas. The objective of this study is to compare the capability of active (Cosmo SkyMed SAR sensor) and passive (Sentinel-2 and Planet sensors) data in detecting windthrows in different seasons of image acquisition. A study site was analysed, located in the Trentino-South Tyrol region (Italy), which was affected by the Vaia storm on 27-30 October 2018, which caused significant forest damage.