Satellite Monitoring of the State of Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika (Panč.) Purk.) Stands in the Mount Veliki Stolac Area (Republic of Srpska). P. 9–32

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528.88:630*181

DOI:

10.37482/0536-1036-2025-6-9-32

Abstract

Multispectral satellite images of medium spatial resolution are the main source of data for remote sensing of stands, including the assessment of forest inventory and biological productivity parameters of stands, as well as changes in the vital status of species. The aim of this work has been to determine the effects of pyrogenic impact on one of the largest populations of Serbian spruce (Picea omorika (Panč.) Purk.) in the Mount Veliki Stolac area (the Republic of Srpska, 1,675 m above sea level) using multi-temporal multispectral Sentinel-2 imagery. Serbian spruce is a relict, endangered tree species whose total population has been declining significantly over the past 100 years. Currently, the natural habitat of this species is limited to a small area on the border of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. To analyze satellite data, a multi-stage method has been proposed that has allowed identifying the Serbian spruce population in the surveyed areas, determining the dynamics of changes in vital status over the past 10 years, and assessing the effects of the forest fire that occurred in this area in 2021. It has been revealed that approximately 50 % of Serbian spruce stands have been damaged, with the species predicted to die for 1/2 of these areas. The greatest damage has been caused to the stands in the central part of the northern slope of Mount Veliki Stolac. Average estimates of the areas of vital status for the recovery period are: healthy – 17.6 ha, weakened – 8.4 ha, damaged – 8.0 ha, drying out – 1.2 ha. The analysis of vegetation indices has shown the absence of significant trends towards natural regeneration of Serbian spruce. The examination of images for 2024 allows us to reasonably assume that the process of replacing Serbian spruce with deciduous species has begun, while no improvement in the vital status of the Serbian spruce population is expected. Thus, in order to preserve this population, it is necessary to carry out reforestation of this valuable relict species.

Authors

Egor V. Dmitriev^1,2, Candidate of Physics and Mathematics, Assoc. Prof., Senior Research Scientist; ResearcherID: E-4794-2014, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5363-3934
Zoran V. Govedar^3,4, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republic of Srpska, Doctor of Agriculture, Prof.; ResearcherID: AAH-6314-2019, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9791-4113
Petr G. Melnik^5, Candidate of Agriculture, Assoc. Prof.; ResearcherID: E-7644-2014, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2802-7614
Timofey V. Kondranin¹, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, Prof.; ResearcherID: K-9407-2013, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3565-3194

Affiliation

¹Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University), per. Institutskiy, 9, Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region, 141701, Russian Federation; yegor@mail.ru, kondr@kondr.rector.mipt.ru
²Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Gubkina, 8, Moscow, 119333, Russian Federation; yegor@mail.ru
³University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Forestry, blv. Petar Bojovic, 1a, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, 78000, Bosnia and Herzegovina; zoran.govedar@sf.unibl.org
⁴Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republic of Srpska, blv. Ban Lazarevic, 1, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, 78000, Bosnia and Herzegovina; zoran.govedar@sf.unibl.org
⁵Bauman Moscow State Technical University (Mytishchi Branch) (National Research University), ul. 1-ya Institutskaya, 1, Mytishchi, Moscow Region, 141005, Russian Federation; melnik_petr@bk.ru^

Keywords

remote sensing, pattern recognition, satellite imagery, forest fires, Serbian spruce, Picea omorika (Panč.) Purk

For citation

Dmitriev E.V., Govedar Z.V., Melnik P.G., Kondranin T.V. Satellite Monitoring of the State of Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika (Panč.) Purk.) Stands in the Mount Veliki Stolac Area (Republic of Srpska). Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2025, no. 6, pp. 9–32. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2025-6-9-32

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