Mapping the vegetation and spatial dynamics of Sinharaja tropical rain forest incorporating NASA’s GEDI spaceborne LiDAR data and multispectral satellite images

doi:10.3832/ifor4632-017

Mapping the vegetation and spatial dynamics of Sinharaja tropical rain forest incorporating NASA’s GEDI spaceborne LiDAR data and multispectral satellite images

Dulan Jayasekara⁽¹⁾ , Tharanga Dhananjani^(1-2), Vinuri Mendis^(2-3), Harsha Jayawickrama⁽⁴⁾, Tharanga Prasad⁽⁵⁾, Maleesha M Gunarathna⁽⁶⁾, Pethigelaye Gunarathna⁽⁵⁾, Dharshani Mahaulpatha⁽¹⁾

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 18, Issue 2, Pages 45-53 (2025)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4632-017
Published: Apr 01, 2025 - Copyright © 2025 SISEF

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Geo-mapping

This study integrates NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) spaceborne LiDAR data with multispectral satellite imagery to map the vegetation and assess spatial dynamics within the Sinharaja Forest Reserve (SFR). Utilizing advanced remote sensing techniques, we delineated vegetation structure, vegetation density distribution, and canopy cover at high spatial resolutions. Eight distinct vegetation/land cover types were identified by this work and an updated vegetation map was developed for SFR. The resulted map recorded an estimated overall accuracy of 90% (Kappa coefficient 0.9) by the accuracy assessment. Comprehensive insights into forest composition and spatial dynamics were achieved with regard to canopy heights, plant area index and plant area volume density. Our results suggest that the integration of GEDI LiDAR and satellite imaging data offers a robust framework for characterizing tropical forest ecosystems, facilitating better understanding of their ecological processes, and informing conservation and management strategies.

Keywords

Forest Dynamics, Remote Sensing, Land Cover, Forest Ecology, Vegetation Density

Authors’ address

(1)

0000-0002-8923-7885
0000-0001-8446-4678
0000-0002-6563-7462
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila (Sri Lanka)

(2)

0000-0001-8446-4678
0009-0006-3540-0006
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila (Sri Lanka)

(3)

0009-0006-3540-0006
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2 (Canada)

(4)

0000-0003-3198-3209
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla 90000 (Sri Lanka)

(5)

Forest Department (Sri Lanka)

(6)

Faculty of Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (Sri Lanka)

Corresponding author

Dulan Jayasekara
dulan@sjp.ac.lk

Citation

Jayasekara D, Dhananjani T, Mendis V, Jayawickrama H, Prasad T, Gunarathna MM, Gunarathna P, Mahaulpatha D (2025). Mapping the vegetation and spatial dynamics of Sinharaja tropical rain forest incorporating NASA’s GEDI spaceborne LiDAR data and multispectral satellite images. iForest 18: 45-53. - doi: 10.3832/ifor4632-017

Academic Editor

Marco Borghetti

Paper history

Received: Apr 26, 2024
Accepted: Dec 05, 2024

First online: Apr 01, 2025
Publication Date: Apr 30, 2025
Publication Time: 3.90 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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