Estimation of Fractional Canopy Cover of Bedul Mangrove Forest Using PlanetScope Imagery

The existence of mangrove forests has various roles for coastal ecosystems in terms of physical, biological, and chemical functions. Mangrove forests also play an important role in balancing environmental quality, neutralizing pollutants, and carbon sink in coastal environment. This study aims to (1) estimate the fractional canopy cover (Fcover) of mangroves using a semi-empirical approach utilizing PlanetScope imagery and (2) determine the accuracy of PlanetScope imagery in modeling mangrove Fcover. Field mangrove Fcover was acquired by hemispherical photography technique and calculated using CAN-EYE software. The canopy cover model was built by determining relationship between field Fcover values and PlanetScope pixel values at corresponding locations. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used as proxy for developing the model. The results of field measurement show that mangrove Fcover in Bedul area, East Java Province, Indonesia has a value range of 1 to 66 (n = 24). The estimated canopy cover obtained from PlanetScope is dominated by a range of 44 to 85. While the accuracy value obtained is moderate with a maximum accuracy value of 48.77. © 2020 IEEE.