Thermal sensing as a tool for monitoring water statues and guiding thinning treatments in conifer forest
Research team: Yagil Osem, Michael Sprintsin, Victor Alchantis and Shabtai Cohen, Tarin Paz-Kagan
In this program, we examine the use of thermal imaging as a tool for assessing water status in the pine forests in Israel and determining the level of forest thinning according to the habitat carrying capacity. Our study focuses on the pine forests in the Kedoshim site, studies the following aspect: (1) study the relationship between the water availability in the root zone and the physiological activity of pine trees in different climatic conditions and seasons, (2) study the relationship between the physiological activity of the trees and the temperature of the foliage measured by aerial image in the thermal spectrum, at various intensities, (3) study the water balance and physiological activity of the trees, the relationship between the changes water availability, the effect of tinning treatments, and (4) study the relation between CWSI obtained from the thermal image and forest phenology.
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An effective assessment of the water status on a large scale will enable the classification of forest areas according to the level of drought stress, ranking according to the priority of treatment and determining the forest management according to the carrying capacity of the habitat. The development of such capacity will be a significant contribution to the management of a water-oriented forest. The use of thermal sensing at a high spatial resolution for assessing the state of the water economy is based on innovative developments made during the past decade for agricultural fields.
