Spatio-temporal change detection of forest canopy cover density in the Golestan National Park, Iran

In this study, spatio-temporal forest canopy cover density changes in the Golestan National Park (Iran) were assessed from 1967 to 2016 using aerial photos and satellite images in a Geographical Information Systems environment. The digital aerial orthophoto mosaics were created after georeferencing photos of the years 1967 and 1994. A special canopy interpretation key was used for interpreting and determining the forest canopy cover classes on the digital orthophoto mosaics and Google earth images and for providing the canopy cover density maps. The results indicated that throughout the period from 1967 to 1994, the non-forest areas in some places were converted into forest due to physical and technical management measures. Results also showed that between 1967 and 2016, the canopy cover class 10-25% had the highest increase (16.6%) followed by the 25-50% class that increased by 21.17%. Our research exhibited that applying the physical preservation and protection management plans are the major factors in conversion of non-forest to forest areas and increase of the canopy cover density. These results emphasize that active physical protection and proper implementation of management methods are required for forest restoration in the study area.