Early warning signals indicate climate change-induced stress in Norway spruce in the Eastern Carpathians

Popa, Andrei; van der Maaten, Ernst; Popa, Ionel; van der Maaten-Theunissen, Marieke

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169167

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In this context, due to various disturbances, such as adverse climate events, insect pests, epiphytocia, etc., one of the most endangered species in Europe is Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. This is very important as Norway spruce, from an ecological and economic point of view, is one of Europe's most important conifer species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Forest Cover Loss as a Response to Drought and Dieback of Norway Spruce and Evaluating Sensitivity of Various Vegetation Indices Using Remote Sensing

Miletić,

Matović,

Orlović

et al. 2024

Forests

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The Norway spruce is one of the most important tree species in Europe. This tree species has been put under considerable pressure due to the ongoing impacts of climate change. Meanwhile, frequent droughts and pest outbreaks are reported as the main reason for its dieback, resulting in severe forest cover loss. Such was the case with Norway spruce forests within the Kopaonik National Park (NP) in Serbia. This study aims to quantify, spatially and temporally, forest cover loss and to evaluate the sensitivity of various vegetation indices (VIs) in detecting drought-induced response and predicting the dieback of Norway spruce due to long-lasting drought effects in the Kopaonik NP. For this purpose, we downloaded and processed a large number of Landsat 7 (ETM+), Landsat 8 (OLI), and Sentinel 2 (MSI) satellite imagery acquired from 2009 to 2022. Our results revealed that forest cover loss was mainly driven by severe drought in 2011 and 2012, which was later significantly influenced by bark beetle outbreaks. Furthermore, various VIs proved to be very useful in monitoring and predicting forest health status. In summary, the drought-induced response detected using various VIs provides valuable insights into the dynamics of forest cover change, with implications for monitoring and conservation efforts of Norway spruce forests in the Kopaonik NP.

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