Using Satellite Imagery and Aerial Orthophotos for the Multi-Decade Monitoring of Subalpine Norway Spruce Stands Changes in Gorce National Park, Poland

Abstract

In the last 50 years, forest disturbances, caused mainly by insect outbreaks and windstorms, had a significant impact on the subalpine Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stands across Europe. The high intensity of these factors often led to complete dieback of existing forest stands, as in Gorce National Park (Southern Poland). The aim of this study was to monitor land cover changes in subalpine Norway spruce stands and their dynamics in Gorce NP in the years 1977–2020 (43 years), with the use of archival remote sensing data. The study area was divided into two subareas: A—the Kudłoń and B—the Jaworzyna range. Changes were tracked in six defined land cover classes, based on available aerial orthophotos and Landsat (NASA) imagery, with the help of the authors’ photointerpretation key. The results showed that almost 50% of old-growth Norway spruce stands died in the analyzed time period (50.9% in subarea A; 48.8% in subarea B). However, young forests appeared in almost 17% of the study area (20.7% and 14.2% in subarea A and B, respectively). The dynamics of land cover changes were different for the analyzed subareas; in subarea A Norway spruce dieback processes weakened at the end of the analyzed time period, whereas in subarea B they maintained high intensity. The process of old-growth Norway spruce stands dieback is still occurring in Gorce NP, but it does not result in the disappearance of the whole subalpine spruce forest ecosystem but is rather a generational change, due to emerging young forests.