RT Journal Article
T1 Identification of Old-Growth Mediterranean Forests Using Airborne Laser Scanning and Geostatistical Analysis
A1 Hevia Cabal, Andrea
A1 Calzado Carretero, Anabel
A1 Alejano Monge, Reyes
A1 Vázquez Piqué, Javier
AB The protection and conservation of old-growth forests (OGFs) are becoming a globalconcern due to their irreplaceability and high biodiversity. Nonetheless, there has been little researchinto the identification and characterization of OGFs of the oldest tree species in Mediterranean areas.We used forest inventory data, low-density airborne laser scanning (ALS) metrics, and geostatisticalanalysis to estimate old-growth indices (OGIs) as indicators of old-growth forest conditions. Weselected a pilot area in European black pine (Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii) ecosystems where theoldest known living trees in the Iberian Peninsula are found. A total of 756 inventory plots wereestablished to characterize standard live tree and stand attributes. We estimated several structuralattributes that discriminate old growth from younger age classes and calculated different types ofOGI for each plot. The best OGI was based on mean tree diameter, standard deviation of tree diameter,and stand density of large trees (diameter > 50 cm). This index is useful for assessing old-growthnessat different successional stages (young and OGFs) in Mediterranean black pine forests. Our resultsconfirm that the estimation of OGIs based on a combination of forest inventory data, geostatisticalanalysis, and ALS is useful for identifying OGFs
PB MDPI
SN 2072-4292 (electrónico)
YR 2022
FD 2022-08
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/21154
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/21154
LA eng
NO Hevia, A., Calzado, A., Alejano, R., & Vázquez-Piqué, J. (2022). Identification of Old-Growth Mediterranean Forests Using Airborne Laser Scanning and Geostatistical Analysis. In Remote Sensing (Vol. 14, Issue 16, p. 4040). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14164040
NO This work was supported by the following projects: “Iberian Heritage Project”, funded bythe Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO, project number 236-61-001), NationalGeographic Society-Waitts Grant Program (“Millennia old black pines and Andalusian CulturalHeritage to unravel human-environment interactions in the Western Mediterranean”, W329-14),the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment(“Bosques viejos frente al cambio climático. Vulnerabilidad, capacidad adaptativa e implicacionesfrente a la gestión forestal”, PRCV00433) and Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness(MINECO) (“El final del ciclo envejecimiento, mortalidad y regeneración en pinares mediterráneos, ysu papel en la adaptación ante un ambiente en cambio (OLDPINE), AGL2017-83828-C2-2-R). TheMinistry of Agriculture and Environment of the Regional Government of Andalusia provided the AFforest inventory data. AH have been supported by PinCaR project (UHU-1266324, FEDER Funds,Andalusia Regional Government, Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad2014-2020). We thank the Forest Service at Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, forproviding the forest inventory data and for their interest in the project. Debería de ser más completo:We are grateful to Teresa Moro from the Natural Park, and Valentin Badillo from the Cazorla, Seguraand Las Villas Natural Park, for their interest and support. The forestry engineering students RaúlGarcía-Raga and Carlos Maeztu (University of Huelva), and Alex Boninsegna (University of Padova)contributed to the fieldwork as part of their final thesis undergraduate studies
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026