UNI VE RS I T À DE GLI ST UDI DI P ADOVA

Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Forest Science

Introduction to GIS
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“Lab Project Report”

[Application of SENTINEL- 2 Data for Forest Cover Density Estimation:
Case Study of Tesso Nilo National Park, Indonesia]

Author:
Giusti Ghivarry

Course lecturer:
Prof. Francesco Pirotti

Legnaro, [14th January 2023]

Università degli Studi di Padova

Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro Forestali
Via dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD)
1. OBJECTIVES
The objective of this project is to build a Forest Cover Density (FCD) map that can
discriminate the distribution of tree canopy density of the forest by utilizing Sentinel-2 MSI
Remote sensing data in Google Earth Engine.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Time and Study Area
The data used was a collection of remote sensing images at the time of recording in 2019
with Tesso Nilo National Park located in Riau Province, Indonesia designated as a study
area.
Tesso Nilo National Park is a conservation forest area with physical characteristics in the
form of a lowland rain forest located in the sub-basin of the Tesso and Nilo rivers. Tesso
Nilo was designated as a national park in 2009 after the concession permit for PT. Nanjak
Makmur ended and its area was converted into a national park. Initially, the area of the
national park was 44.492 hectares, but based on the Decree of the Minister of Forestry of the
Republic of Indonesia Number: Sk.6588/Menhut-VII/KUH/2014 which took effect from
2014, the area became 81.793 hectares [1].

Data Source:
Openstreetmap Open Layer

Figure 1: Location of Tesso Nilo National Park

Università degli Studi di Padova

Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro Forestali
Via dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD)
 2.1.2. Remote Sensing Data
The data used in this report was Sentinel-2 MSI Level 2A image which has been
atmospherically corrected to the surface reflectance level and stored as an asset in the Google
Earth Engine dataset catalog. The asset contains 12 bands representing visible to shortwave
infrared with 10 to 20-meter resolution and return visits from 10 to 5 days [2].
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Pre-Processing
Before the data can be used to build the FCD model, pre-processing needed to be done. The
filtering process was carried out to obtain a collection of images with the desired recording
time. The filtering process was also carried out to select a collection of images with the
lowest level of cloud cover and then the cloud masking process was carried out to remove
the remaining cloud cover. The selected image collection was then mosaicked using the
median method to obtain a single image which was then clipped according to the boundaries
of the study area. After the pre-processing process, the image can be used to build an FCD
Model.
2.2.2. Constructing a Forest Cover Density Model
In general, the FCD model is a complicated transformation model, because it requires other
index transformations to be performed first. This transformation model utilizes the red and
near-infrared bands in addition to the commonly used index transformation. The components
used to build the FCD map are Vegetation Density (VD) which is a combination of the
Advanced Vegetation (AVI) and Bare Soil Index (BSI) with the Scaled Shadow Index (SSI)
which is based on the Shadow Index (SI) [3]. An explanation regarding the index
transformation to build an FCD map is described as follows:
2.2.2.1. Advanced Vegetation Index (AVI)
The AVI formula is as follows:
𝐴𝑉𝐼 = 3√((𝑁𝐼𝑅 + 1000) × (𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑅𝑒𝑑 − 𝑅𝑒𝑑 ) × (𝑁𝐼𝑅 − 𝑅𝑒𝑑 )) .......................... (1)
Where NIR is the Near Infrared band and Red is the red wave spectral band. MaxRerd is the
maximum value of the Red band. 1000 was used instead of 1 to accommodate the
harmonized Sentinel-2 imagery in the Google Earth Engine data catalog.
2.2.2.2. Bare Soil Index (BSI)
The BSI formula is as follows:
((𝑆𝑊𝐼𝑅1+𝑅𝑒𝑑)−(𝑁𝐼𝑅+𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒))
𝐵𝑆𝐼 = ((𝑆𝑊𝐼𝑅1+𝑅𝑒𝑑)+(𝑁𝐼𝑅+𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒))
× 100 + 100 ......................................................... (2)

Università degli Studi di Padova

Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro Forestali
Via dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD)
Where SWIR1 is the shortwave infrared band, Red is the red spectral band and Green is the
green wave spectral band.
2.2.2.3. Shadow Index (SI)
The SI formula is as follows:
𝑆𝐼 = 3√((𝑀𝑎𝑥𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 − 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛) × (𝑀𝑎𝑥𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒) × (𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑅𝑒𝑑 − 𝑅𝑒𝑑 )) ...... (3)
Where RED, green and Blue respectively are the spectral bands of the red, green, and blue
color waves. While MaxGreen, MaxBlue, and MaxRed are the maximum range values of
the green, blue, and red bands.
2.2.2.4. Forest Cover Density (FCD)
The FCD formula is as follows:
𝐹𝐶𝐷 = √(𝑉𝐷 × 𝑆𝑆𝐼 + 1) − 1 ................................................................................. (4)
Where VD is Vegetation Index, while SSI is the Scaled Shadow index. VD was obtained by
combining AVI and BSI with the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method. The process
of developing the FCD model is described in the following graph:

Università degli Studi di Padova

Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro Forestali
Via dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD)
 SENTINEL-2
Legend

Input Filtering

In-between Process Cloud Masking

Pre-Processing
Process Water Mask

Provisional mosaicking
Result
Index transformation

Final Result

Advanced
Bare Soil Index Shadow Index
Vegetation Index

Principal Component Analysis

Vegetation
Density

Scaled Vegetation Scaled Shadow

Density Index

Raster Calculation

Forest Cover Density Model

Figure 1: Graphical Flow Chart of Forest Cover Density Model Development

Università degli Studi di Padova

Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro Forestali
Via dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD)
3. RESULT
The following figure is a Forest Cover Density map that depicts the canopy density of land
cover in Tesso Nilo National Park, Indonesia in 2019. The spatial resolution of the map is
30 meters and the canopy density is represented in percentage units. The canopy density was
classified into 6, namely: class 1 (< 10%), class 2 (10% to 20%), class 3 (20% to 40%), class
4 (40% to 60%), class 5 (60% to 80%), and class 6 (>80%) [4].

Figure 2: 2022 Forest Cover Density Map of Tesso Nilo National Park

4. ANALYSES AND CONCLUSIONS

As shown on the map, the majority of areas within Tesso Nilo National Park especially on
the west side, have medium canopy density (0% to 60%). The majority of these areas are in
the form of pockets with very varying levels of canopy density. Even so, in the same location
land parcels with a small area with a relatively high-density value were also found. Whereas
on the east side, the majority of the canopy density is quite high and the distribution of
canopy density is more homogeneous than on the west side. This pattern of canopy density
may occur because the majority of land cover in the west is an oil palm plantation managed
by small-scale farmers or smallholders. The management process is carried out at the
Università degli Studi di Padova
Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro Forestali
Via dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD)
individual level so that the age of the plants is not uniform on a large scale. Meanwhile, the
eastern side is still dominated by natural forests, which causes the land cover on that side to
be more homogenous.
In conclusion, this model can show the spatial distribution of canopy density both visually
and numerically. Further analysis can provide further information regarding the
characteristics and development of land cover related to its canopy density. Even so, some
points need attention. FCD modeling using multispectral imagery cannot meet short-term
needs, one of the reasons is because of the cloud cover. The process of cloud removal and
filtering can indeed be done to solve this problem, but this will reduce the temporal ability
of the image. To overcome this problem, it is necessary to try to make a model by utilizing
data that in the recording process can penetrate cloud cover, such as radar data.

5. REFERENCE

[1] "About Tesso Nilo National Park," Tesso Nilo National Park Office, [Online].
Available: https://tntessonilo.com/tentang-tn-tesso-nilo/. [Accessed 23 January 2023].
[2] "Harmonized Sentinel-2 MSI: MultiSpectral Instrument, Level-2A," Google Earth
Engine, [Online]. Available: https://developers.google.com/earth-
engine/datasets/catalog/COPERNICUS_S2_SR_HARMONIZED#description.
[Accessed 30 December 2022].
[3] P. Danoedoro, Pengantar Penginderaan Jauh Digital, Yogyakarta: Andi Publishing,
2012.
[4] P. S. Roy, K. P. Sharma and A. Jain, "Stratification of density in dry decidiuous forest
using satellite remote sensing digital data-An approach based on spectral indices,"
Journal of Bioscience, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 723-734, 1996.

Università degli Studi di Padova

Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro Forestali
Via dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD)