Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1111/avsc.70030
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Exploring Sentinel-2-based spectral variability for enhancing grassland diversity assessments across Germany
Author Ludwig, A.; Feilhauer, H.; Doktor, D.
Source Titel Applied Vegetation Science
Year 2025
Department iDiv; RS
Volume 28
Issue 3
Page From e70030
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Favsc.70030&file=avsc70030-sup-0001-AppendixS1.docx
Keywords biodiversity monitoring; random forest; remote sensing
Abstract Questions
Can remote sensing data support the assessment of High Nature Value (HNV) conservation categories in the German HNV monitoring scheme? Specifically, does spectral pixel-to-pixel variability improve classification accuracy of HNV categories based on Sentinel-2 data?
Location
Germany.
Methods
We used multispectral Sentinel-2 imagery (10 m resolution) from 5 years (2017–2021) to classify HNV categories. Random Forest models were trained using different predictor combinations, including spectral data, phenology, and geographical location. We applied various cross-validation strategies to assess classification accuracy.
Results
Classification accuracy was generally low (≈44%) when using target-oriented cross-validation, suggesting limited agreement between predictions and actual HNV categories. Spectral variability alone did not clearly correspond to HNV diversity categories. Instead, geographic location and management emerged as the most important predictors for classification.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the challenges of linking ecological field data with remote sensing information for biodiversity assessments. Improved integration of ecological and remote sensing data is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of biodiversity monitoring schemes.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=30795
Ludwig, A., Feilhauer, H., Doktor, D. (2025):
Exploring Sentinel-2-based spectral variability for enhancing grassland diversity assessments across Germany
Appl. Veg. Sci. 28 (3), e70030 10.1111/avsc.70030