Open areas of bogs and wetlands are easy to identify and map by orthophoto or satellite imagery, however, in the forest under a closed canopy of trees or in the vicinity of water bodies and watercourses, wet areas are more difficult to identify (Creed, Sanford, Beall, Molot, & Dillon, 2003; Gregory, Swanson, McKee, & Cummins, 1991). In Latvia, research on the spatial distribution of soil moisture using remote sensing data was started in 2017 (Ivanovs & Lupikis, 2018) and a methodology has been developed for predicting soil moisture on different types of geological sediments.
Within the framework of the LIFE OrgBalt project, we have created wet area maps for the entire territory of the Baltic States with a 5m horizontal resolution. Wet area mapping methodology was developed by scientists J.Ivanovs and A. Lupikis, 2018. Wet area maps are developed on the basis of various indices derived from elevation data, such as depth of depression, normalized height, slope, SAGA wetness index and size of catchment area. Maps developed are available as a WMS service at https://silava.forestradar.com/geoserver/silava/wms using GIS services.
Wet area maps can be used in a variety of forestry and agricultural areas. Wet area maps can be used to plan the movement of heavy forestry and agricultural machinery, thus reducing the risk of soil damage, to select the most suitable tree and crop species for specific forest and agricultural areas, as well as in other respects.
ARTICLE: Wet area maps for the Baltics: improved understanding of the spatial distribution of soil moisture
Autor: JĀNIS IVANOVS, SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANT AT LATVIAN STATE FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE “SILAVA”, LEADING PARTNER OF THE LIFE ORGBALT PROJECT