Usage PlanetScope Images and LiDAR Point Clouds for Characterizing the Forest Succession Process in Post-Agricultural Areas

The paper investigates using PlanetScope satellite images together with LiDAR data for automation of land use/cover (LULC) mapping and 3D vegetation characteristics in the aspect of mapping and monitoring of the secondary forest succession areas. The study was performed for the tested area in the Biskupice district (South of Poland), where a forest succession occurs on post-agricultural lands. The research area was parcels where the forest overgrowing process was identified. It was verified whether the image processing allows for reliable LULC classification as an identification forest succession area. The PlanetScope classification showed forested areas as 62.77 ha (44.91% of the analyzed area). The overall accuracy of the image classification was 96.40% The airborne laser scanning (ALS) point clouds were used for deriving detailed information about the forest succession process. The precise vegetation parameters i.e., height and canopy cover were determined and presented as raster maps, histograms, or profiles.