Remote sensing imagery in monitoring spatial pattern changes in forest landscape

GIs and remote sensing technology have been used to compare Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), diversity and fragmentation of two forest complexes different each from the other in the structure of land use in the 19th century and intensively of timber exploitation in the recent several years. Both complexes have been located in Zabory Landscape Park in Pomerania Province. The first site M has been comprised secondary forests restored by introduction of pine seedlings on former poor seep pastures and arable lands. After 100 years, due to intensive timber exploitation a big part of those area has been occupied by clear-cuttings and few-year-old pine plantations apart from the oldest pine forests. The second site P has been forest complex where the timber exploitation was significantly reduced since the middle of eighties. The structure of landscape in the first site has been assessed on the basis of five sample plots about 150 or 500 hectares. Four plots of similar size have been chosen in the site P. The Landsat TM imagery from 28 July 1990 and Idrisi-32 software have been used in analysis. It results from the calculations that landscape with intensively exploited forests on former agricultural soils has been characterised by lower values of NDVI and higher values of diversity and fragmentation in comparison to those with sustainable forest management. Significant differences in the structure of landscapes have also been clearly expressed by the methods of numerical classification.