Changes in forest connectivity from beech bark disease in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Within the forests of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, biologists are trying to understand the effects beech bark disease has on wildlife species, especially species that need forest connectivity to thrive. This project used aerial imagery collected in 2005, shortly after beech bark disease infestation, and satellite imagery from 2018. The 2018 imagery represents present day conditions and was used to locate forest canopy gaps through object-based image analysis. Forest canopy gaps were identified using the multiresolution segmentation algorithm within Trimble’s eCognition software. A time change analysis was completed to understand how the forest canopy had changed from 2005 to 2018. The analysis showed areas that had maintained forest canopy, maintained a forest canopy gap, created a new canopy gap (closed forest canopy in 2005 but open canopy gap in 2018), or created new forest canopy (open canopy gap in 2005 but closed forest canopy in 2018). There were 9,127 acres of forest canopy lost, and 72.8 percent of that lost canopy occurred in a forest type where Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. (American beech) is a common tree species. The datasets developed through this project can enhance knowledge of where canopy gaps exist and help place focus on certain areas for wildlife studies. In addition, these datasets can be used in future studies to monitor the health of the forest and conduct additional change analyses.