Project objectives
The main objectives of the project are:
- Monitoring of stand dynamics in Białowieża Forest (including analysis of tree species composition, monitoring of forest stand changes caused by spruce and ash dieback and hornbeam expansion, etc.)
- Analysis of natural forest regeneration and rejuvenation, including the role of gaps,
- Creating/defining of the combination of various remote sensing techniques and datasets that would be optimal for forest monitoring needs,
- Characteristics of Białowieża Forest microclimate,
- Promotion of Białowieża Forest with use of multimedia.
Project activities are focused on providing a comprehensive illustration of changes in forest stands and their dynamics (by using of several different time series of remote sensing data) and moving from the point scale monitoring (field measurements on sample plots) to the large scale area monitoring. This will improve the efficiency of operations carried out in the forest ecosystems protection. It will be possible to study forest biodiversity in parts of Białowieża Forest as well. Project results will be presented in the form of publications and maps showing specific changes over the years. Information about the project will be provided to the local community (through radio and television broadcasts, meetings, leaflets and promotional films) and to specialists in the field of natural sciences in Poland and abroad (through seminars, conferences and journal articles). Awareness of the local community about the environmental changes will be verified by a direct survey conducted at the beginning and at end of the project.