Exploring Canopy Temperature and Height Dynamics in Forest Ecosystems

Within this study, we examined the correlation between tree canopy temperature, canopy height, and vegetation types. Furthermore, we conducted a similar analysis in the southern region of the island of Sardinia, renowned for its dense forests and frequent wildfires. We successfully mapped the vegetation types in the region using PRISMA hyperspectral data and the SVM classifier with an accuracy of over 80% for all classes. We utilized Random Forest Regression on Sentinel-1 SAR data, Sentinel-2 multispectral data, and the SRTM DEM to determine the canopy heights of various plant classes. Our estimation had an RMSE of 2.9176 meters and an R2 of 0.791. In addition, we used the MODIS LST and emissivity product regardless of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) type to calculate the ground surface temperature. Using LST measurements over tree canopies, we identified a correlation between canopy temperature and corresponding canopy heights as well as vegetation types for five vegetation types, including evergreen oak, olive, juniper, silicicole, and riparian trees. For various vegetation types, the results and graph demonstrate that lower tree canopy temperatures corresponded to higher tree canopies, with a range of -0.4 to -0.5.