DETERMINING THE SPECIES COMPOSITION OF FOREST VEGETATION IN THE KOSTANAY REGION USING REMOTE SENSING DATA

Abstract

During the scientific investigation, woody species of forest vegetation were identified and a map of forest vegetation in the Kostanay region was produced using various data sources: field materials, Earth remote sensing data, and ArcGIS10.9 software. An algorithm was developed to detect tree species based on Landsat 9 satellite imagery, characterized by high spatial resolution. Recognition of dominant tree species was performed using various combinations of spectral bands from Landsat 9 imagery, analysis of vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI) across different seasons, and supervised local adaptive classification. The obtained data were validated against field research materials (August-September 2023) and forest management records. The chosen algorithm implements contemporary approaches to acquiring and processing necessary data from satellite remote sensing imagery. Further differentiation and creation of the forest vegetation map of the Kostanay region were based on the established map of tree species, digital elevation model, geological-geomorphological features, field research, thematic maps, and physical geography of the region. As a result of the conducted research, six classes of forest stands were delineated in the Kostanay region, including light-coniferous and deciduous tree species such as pine, birch, aspen, larch, shrubbery, and meadow vegetation. These research findings and the algorithm developed can be applied to other study areas and hold practical significance.