Application 2:   
Change detection for forest insect damage assessment

 

In the 1980s, the western portion of the Yellowstone Central Plateau was affected by a mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreak that extended into the mid-1980s (Despain, 1990). The beetle continues to affect parts of the Yellowstone forest in sporadic outbreaks, providing an opportunity to test the functionality of the geostatistical modeling approach for assessment of beetle damage through change detection Geostatistical models developed for this study will be applied to current and historical satellite images to produce pre- and post-infestation maps of basal area, biomass, and LAI.