THE USE OF A FIELD SPECTROMETER AND SATELLITE IMAGERY FOR IDENTIFYING STRESSED VEGETATION IN BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

Chlorophyll is the basic pigment for photosynthesis. Vegetation senescence can be accelerated if this process is hampered by external factors. Remote sensing tools contribute to vegetation stress detection. Previous studies correlated chlorophyll values with vegetation indices and red-edge shoulder position. This paper explored the applicability of multi- and hyperspectral satellite images and in-situ spectrometry data for identifying healthy and stressed vegetation in four parks within Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. It integrated data from Sentinel-2 MSI, EO-1 Hyperion and STS-VIS spectrometer from Ocean Optics. Overview of vegetation health is delivered by spaceborne sensors, using vegetation index values. MTVI indicates that vegetation in Unirii Park is the most affected, whilst Her str u Park and Tei Park are better managed. Furthermore, red-edge position analysis using leaf reflectance of three species (ash tree, linden tree, pine) confirmed the findings from satellite images. All analysed species Unirii Park and P cii Park showed signs of high stress, resulting in a red shift of the red-edge position. Ash tree in Her str u Park is rather healthy. All species in Tei Park seemed to record a normal senescence rhythm.