Characterizing Peat Swamp Forest Physiognomies with Multi- and Hyperspectral Data
Liesenberg, Veraldo¹; Boehm, Viktor²; Limin, Suwido^3
1TU Bergakademie Freiberg, GERMANY; ²Kalteng Concultants, GERMANY; ³Universitas Palangka Raya / CIMTROP, INDONESIA

The potential of multispectral ALI and hyperspectral Hyperion onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) mission satellite were evaluated for the characterization of peat swamp forest (PSF) physiognomies. The scenes were acquired on July 5, 2012. The Sabangau National Forest (SNF) located in Central Kalimantan (Indonesia) was selected as a test site. The Hyperion scene was radiometrically corrected for the stripping effects using adjacent pixels and accounted for smile effect. Atmospheric attenuation was compensated using ATCOR-2. Surface reflectance from both sensors was related with in-situ measured biophysical parameters [e.g. above ground biomass (AGB) and plant area index (PAI)]. The measurements were conducted across a peat dome from August to September, 2011. PSF physiognomies ranged from the riverine forest towards the low pole, mixed PSF, tall pole and burnt scar. Vegetation indices (VI) besides two-band ratios indices were also used for the spectral characterization. The results may help to better understand the current capabilities and limitations of simultaneously multi- and hyperspectral data in view of the forthcoming Hyperspectral missions. Information concerning the status of the PSF is important under the recent political support from the United Nations (UN) endorsing the "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation" (REDD+) protocols.