Southern Indiana Ecological Conservation II: Mapping Foliage Height Diversity and Canopy Closure Trends to Inform Oak and Hickory Restoration and Inform Public Outreach

The Central Hardwood Forest, nestled in the Midwestern United States, encompasses approximately 65,000 square miles. Oak and hickory trees are keystone species in Central Hardwood ecosystems, as they support a wide diversity of organisms, like songbirds and insects, by providing food, shelter, and habitat. This ecosystem is currently undergoing mesophication. Let the Sunshine In-Indiana is a public/private partnership looking to address mesophication through active forest management to preserve native ecosystems but need public support to do so. Let the Sunshine In-Indiana partnered with DEVELOP to identify areas undergoing mesophication to inform restoration and to characterize tree canopy closure trends in Southern Indiana for public outreach and education. DEVELOP used NASA Earth observation data, such as Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, and the International Space Station’s Global Ecosystem Dynamic Investigation data to help the partners address these objectives. While our tested methods and data indicated no statistically predictive relationship, they can help inform future research efforts to determine adequate metrics to identify forest mesophication and conserve native oak-hickory ecosystems.