Spectral reflectance analysis of abandoned agricultural lands in the Central Russian forest-steppe using Sentinel-2 satellite data

Abstract

The article considers the spectral response of post-agrogenic landscapes in the forest-steppe zone based on Sentinel-2 data. The study was carried out on the territory of the Central Chernozem region. The type of forest that forms on abandoned agricultural land has a statistically significant effect on the spectral response in most Sentinel-2 bands. The reflectance of abandoned lands with deciduous and coniferous species is statistically significantly different in most bands. The reflectance of abandoned lands with mixed forests does not differ statistically significantly from other types of post-agrogenic landscapes. The reflectance of abandoned lands is inversely related to their forest cover in most Sentinel-2 bands. The strongest correlation with forest cover is typical for red (Band 4) and SWIR (Band 11, 12) ranges for all post-agrogenic landscape types. In the same bands, there are statistically significant differences between most of forest cover gradations of post-agrogenic landscapes. The established patterns make it possible to use the reflectance in the red (Band 4) and SWIR MSI bands (11, 12) to assess the forest cover of post-agrogenic landscapes.