Monitoring report of old growth forest changes in the Ukrainian Carpathians for December 2022

We share news about our monthly satellite monitoring of old growth forests and other forests valuable for conservation. As of the end of December 2020, no logging was detected.

We use optical images for satellite monitoring, but in the winter there are certain difficulties in processing such images. Due to the low position of the sun during shooting, and high cloud cover, most of the pictures in the mountainous area are shaded. The low position of the sun above the horizon at the time of shooting makes even a visual comparison of the images impossible. Thus, the comparison of winter optical images may not give reliable results.

For winter monitoring, we started using radar images. Radars have a different operating principle, so pictures taken at any time of the day and under any weather conditions are suitable for monitoring changes in forest cover. Unlike optical images, radar images require the implementation of a complex processing process and powerful software, which complicates work with them. Also, in mountainous terrain, radar images may not be suitable for monitoring due to "noise" on the images, which occurs due to mountain slopes.

We continue to work on the methodology of analyzing radar satellite images and are engaged in the purchase of equipment for their analysis.

We will remind that 582 plots of plantations, which have the legally established status of "primitive forest, quasi-primitive and natural forests" in the territory of 4 oblasts: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, and Chernivtsi, were taken under monitoring. The total area of the plots is 6958.1 ha. The list of plots is updated.

The works are carried out as part of the "Forest Monitoring" project with the assistance of the International Programs Department of the US Forest Service.