Use of remote sensing to track postindustrial vegetation development

Abstract

The effects of natural processes on deposited mineral material of postindustrial sites is underestimated. Natural vegetation development on mineral material substratum is an unappreciated way of site management. Due to the classification‐based approach to assembly of plant community diversity, remote sensing methods have limited application. We aimed to assess whether remotely sensed data allow for building predictive models, able to recognise vegetation variability along the main gradients of species composition. We assessed vegetation in 321 study plots on four coal‐mine spoil heaps in Silesia (S Poland). We determined the main gradients of species composition using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and we identified how DCA scores describe vegetation variability. DCA axes explained 38.5%, 35.4%, 31.4%, and 20.1% of species composition variability. We built machine learning models of DCA scores using multispectral satellite images and airborne laser scanning data as predictors. We obtained good predictive power of models for the first two DCA axes (R2 = 0.393 and 0.443, root mean square errors, RMSE = 0.571 and 0.526) and low power for the third and fourth DCA axes (R2 = 0.216 and 0.064, RMSE = 0.513 and 0.361). These scores allowed us to prepare a vegetation map based on DCA scores, and distinguish meadow‐like from forest‐edge‐like vegetation, and to identify thermophilous and highly productive vegetation patches. Our approach allowed us to account for species composition gradients, which improved remote sensing‐based vegetation surveys. This method may be used for planning future management.

Eco‐physiological responses of Calamagrostis epigejos L (Roth) and Solidago gigantea Aition to complex environmental stresses in coal‐mine spoil heaps

“…Hard coal has been mined for over 250 years. We chose for detailed investigations 'Sośnica' hard coal‐mine spoil heap in Gliwice (50°16′22″N, 18°44′43″E), that can serve as a model object for studies the novel ecosystems (Kompała‐Bąba et al, 2021; Woźniak et al, 2021). It is almost 2 km long, nearly 900 m wide, over 30 m high, and occupies approximately 170 hectares.…”

“…In each study plot Ce , as well as Sg covered at least 60% of the plots. The percentage cover of vascular plant species (estimated as cover for each species) was estimated according to the following scale: 1, 2, 5, 10%, and then at 10% intervals (Woźniak et al, 2021). In each plot the rhizosphere substrate and bulk substrate were taken from three points at a depth of 10 cm.…”

UAV Remote Sensing for High-Throughput Phenotyping and for Yield Prediction of Miscanthus by Machine Learning Techniques

“…The training dataset was created using a stratified random sampling method [31]: data from both locations and genotypes were split into 2/3 of the dataset for training and 1/3 for testing, based on data distribution. The variable importance was calculated by the dropout loss of the RMSE (i.e., the increase of prediction in the RMSE [85]) using the DALEX package [86]. To demonstrate the uncertainty of importance estimation, the variable importance was calculated for 10 permutations [85].…”

“…The variable importance was calculated by the dropout loss of the RMSE (i.e., the increase of prediction in the RMSE [85]) using the DALEX package [86]. To demonstrate the uncertainty of importance estimation, the variable importance was calculated for 10 permutations [85]. The RF models' performances were evaluated through the coefficient of determination (R 2 ), the root mean square error, and the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) [87].…”

Is the Age of Novel Ecosystem the Factor Driving Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Colonization in Poa compressa and Calamagrostis epigejos?

“…Traditional approaches emphasizing historical continuity are challenged by the novel ecosystem concept that can deliver critical ecosystem services and are immune to most global change impacts [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The post-coal mine heaps fulfill the four requirements of the novel ecosystems definition and consist of a model example of the developing novel ecosystem [ 6 ].…”