Bogdan Zagajewski

• Dr hab.
• Faculty Member at University of Warsaw

Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme events, including those in forests. One of the major drivers of forest change in Europe is the bark beetle, which causes large-scale annual changes in spruce forest areas. Mountain forests are particularly vulnerable as changes occur rapidly and require long-term monitoring of ongoing ecological...

Climate change is significantly affecting mountain plant communities, causing dynamic alterations in species composition as well as spatial distribution. This raises the need for constant monitoring. The Tatra Mountains are the highest range of the Carpathians which are considered biodiversity hotspots in Central Europe. For this purpose, microwave...

A proliferation of invasive species is displacing native species, occupying their habitats and degrading biodiversity. One of these is the invasive goldenrod (Solidago spp.), characterized by aggressive growth that results in habitat disruption as it outcompetes native plants. This invasiveness also leads to altered soil composition through the rel...

The mapping of invasive plant species is essential for effective ecosystem control and planning, especially in protected areas. One of the widespread invasive plants that threatens the species richness of Natura 2000 habitats in Europe is the large-leaved lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus). In our study, this species was identified at two Natura 2000 sit...

Climate change and anthropopression significantly impact plant communities by leading to the spread of expansive and alien invasive plants, thus reducing their biodiversity. Due to significant elevation gradients, high-mountain plant communities in a small area allow for the monitoring of the most important environmental changes. Additionally, bein...

The Industrial Revolution led to the commercial exploitation of asbestos in Cyprus. Cyprus has the second largest asbestos deposits in Europe, after Italy. Even though most of the extracted asbestos was exported, Cyprus had two operational asbestos manufacturing plants. Production increased steadily until 1980, with mining activities ending in 1988...

Europe’s mountain forests, which are naturally valuable areas due to their high biodiversity and well-preserved natural characteristics, are experiencing major alterations, so an important component of monitoring is obtaining up-to-date information concerning species composition, extent, and location. An important aspect of mapping tree stands is t...

The Mediterranean ecosystem exhibits a particular geology and climate, which is characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, very hot summers with low precipitation; it has led to the emergence of resilient plant species. Such habitats contain a preponderance of shrubs, and collectively harbor 10% of the Earth's species, thus containing some of t...

Coniferous forests of the northern hemisphere are exposed to strong outbreaks of bark beetles. Using free multispectral Sentinel-2 satellite images from the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus program, the European spruce bark beetle outbreak in the Tatra National Park in 2015-2018 was traced. A single-image Support Vector Machine classification...

Recent developments in computer hardware made it possible to assess the viability of permutation-based approaches in image classification. Such approaches sample a reference dataset multiple times in order to train an arbitrary number of machine learning models while assessing their accuracy. So-called iterative accuracy assessment techniques or Mo...

Cambiophagous insects, fires and windthrow cause significant forest disturbances, generating ecological changes and economical losses. The bark beetle (Ips typographus L.), inhabiting coniferous forests and eliminating weakened trees, plays a key role in posing a threat to tree stands, which are dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies) and covers a...

Mountain forests are exposed to extreme conditions (e.g., strong winds and intense solar radiation) and various types of damage by insects such as bark beetles, which makes them very sensitive to climatic changes. Therefore, continuous monitoring is crucial, and remote-sensing techniques allow the monitoring of transboundary areas where a common po...

Land cover information is essential in European Union spatial management, particularly that of invasive species, natural habitats, urbanization, and deforestation; therefore, the need for accurate and objective data and tools is critical. For this purpose, the European Union’s flagship program, the Corine Land Cover (CLC), was created. Intensive wo...

Crowdsourcing is one of the spatial data sources, but due to its unstructured form, the quality of noisy crowd judgments is a challenge. In this study, we address the problem of detecting and removing crowdsourced data bias as a prerequisite for better-quality open-data output. This study aims to find the most robust data quality assurance system (...

This study is focused on the assessment of the potential of Sentinel-2 satellite images and the Random Forest classifier for mapping forest cover and forest types in northwest Gabon. The main goal was to investigate the impact of various spectral bands collected by the Sentinel-2 satellite, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and digital...

The United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs), a strategy to guide the world’s social and economic transformation, highlight the issue of urban air pollution in SDG 11. Open data, as an output of citizen science (CS), are needed to supply and improve the SDG indicator system. Therefore, we propose a CS framework to extend the paradig...

Invasive and expansive plant species are considered a threat to natural biodiversity because of their high adaptability and low habitat requirements. Species investigated in this research, including Solidago spp., Calamagrostis epigejos, and Rubus spp., are successfully displacing native vegetation and claiming new areas, which in turn severely dec...

The unique set of physical and chemical properties of asbestos has led to its many industrial applications worldwide, of which roofing and facades constitute approximately 80% of currently used asbestos-containing products. Since asbestos-containing products are harmful to human health, their use and production have been banned in many countries. T...

Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters can provide useful indications of photosynthetic performance in vivo. Coupling appropriate fluorescence measurements with other noninvasive techniques, such as absorption spectroscopy or gas exchange, can provide insights into the limitations to photosynthesis under given conditions. Chlorophyll content is one of...

Vegetation, through its condition, reflects the properties of the environment. Heterogeneous alpine ecosystems play a critical role in global monitoring systems, but due to low accessibility, cloudy conditions, and short vegetation periods, standard monitoring methods cannot be applied comprehensively. Hyperspectral tools offer a variety of methods...

Remote sensing, which is based on a reflected electromagnetic spectrum, offers a wide range of research methods. It allows for the identification of plant properties, e.g., chlorophyll, but a registered signal not only comes from green parts but also from dry shoots, soil, and other objects located next to the plants. It is, thus, important to iden...

Climate change-induced snow thaw and subsequent accumulation of ice on the ground is a potential, major threat to snow-dominated ecosystems. While impacts of ground-ice on arctic wildlife are well explored, the impacts on tundra vegetation is far from understood. We therefore tested the vulnerability of two high-arctic plants, the prostrate shrub S...

Knowledge of tree species composition is obligatory in forest management. Accurate tree species maps allow for detailed analysis of a forest ecosystem and its interactions with the environment. The research presented here focused on developing methods of tree species identification using aerial hyperspectral data. The research area is located in So...

In the years 2014–2016 biomonitoring studies were conducted in the forest areas of south and north-eastern Poland: the Karkonosze Mountains, the Beskidy Mountains, the Borecka Forest, the Knyszyńska Forest and the Białowieska Forest. This study used epigeic moss Pleurozium schreberi and epiphytic lichens Hypogymnia physodes. Samples were collected...

This research focuses on the use of HySpex hyperspectral images for verification of two-dimensional hydrodynamic modelling of open-channel flow over loose bed (CCHE2D) and assessment of water quality in the Zegrze Reservoir. The CCHE2D hydrodynamic model results show the distribution of hydraulic parameters of water flow and the sediment concentrat...

Natura 2000 habitats should be protected against any damage. Among essential threats for protected natural habitats is encroachment of alien invasive and native expansive plant species. The phenomenon requires comprehensive and efficient solutions which will be possible to repeat and apply on various areas. The study aim is the identification of 4...

Imaging spectroscopy in the remote sensing is an ever emerging platform that has offered the hyperspectral imaging (HSI) which delivers the Earth's object information in hundreds of bands. HSI integrates conventional imaging with spectroscopy to get rich spectral and spatial features of the object. However, the challenges associated with HSI are it...

Mapping plant communities is a difficult and time consuming endeavor. Methods relying on field surveys deliver high quality data but are usually limited to relatively small areas. In this paper we apply airborne hyperspectral data to vegetation mapping in remote and hard to reach areas. We classified 22 vegetation communities in the Giant Mountains...

This research focuses on the effect of trampling on vegetation in high-mountain ecosystems through the electromagnetic spectrum’s interaction with plant pigments, cell structure, water content and other substances that have a direct impact on leaf properties. The aim of the study was to confirm with the use of fluorescence methods of variability in...

Online mapping platforms enable citizens to generate geographic content that can be geoprocessed and displayed in real time as scientific data. Typically, this is implemented through 3-tier architecture including GIS server software and it may be challenging to achieve a comparable level of online mapping features without it. The aim of this study...

Effective assessment of environmental changes requires an update of vegetation maps as it is an indicator of both local and global development. It is therefore important to formulate methods which would ensure constant monitoring. It can be achieved with the use of satellite data which makes the analysis of hard-to-reach areas such as alpine ecosys...

Remote sensing is a suitable candidate for monitoring rapid changes in Polar regions, offering high-resolution spectral, spatial and radiometric data. This paper focuses on the spectral properties of dominant plant species acquired during the first week of August 2015. Twenty-eight plots were selected, which could easily be identified in the field...

The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the hyperspectral reflectance of soils and their albedo, measured under various roughness conditions. 108 soil surface measurements were conducted in Poland and Israel. Each surface was characterised by its diurnal albedo variation in the field as well as by its reflectance spectra...

This research focuses on the effect of trampling on vegetation in high-mountain ecosystems through the electromagnetic spectrum’s interaction with plant pigments, cell structure, water content and other substances that have a direct impact on leaf properties. The most heavily visited part of the High Tatras in Poland was divided into polygons and,...

Knowledge of tree species composition in a forest is an important topic in forest management. Accurate tree species maps allow for much more detailed and in-depth analysis of biophysical forest variables. The paper presents a comparison of three classification algorithms: support vector machines (SVM), random forest (RF) and artificial neural netwo...

Tourist traffic has been observed to cause changes in vegetation cover, particularly in alpine areas. These changes can be monitored using remote-sensing methods. This paper presents an analysis of the condition of the dominant sward species surrounding the most frequented alpine tourist trails in the Tatra National Park, one of the most visited na...

The characterization of vegetation is a very important ecological task, especially in sensitive mountain areas, as alpine regions often respond to small short-term variations of abiotic and biotic components as well as long-term global changes. Spatial techniques, such as imaging spectroscopy, allow for detailed classification of different syntaxon...

Heavy metals and radioactive compounds are potentially hazardous substances for plants, animals and humans in the Arctic. A good knowledge of the spatial variation of these substances in soil and primary producers, and their sources, is therefore essential. In the samples of lichen Thamnolia vermicularis, Salix polaris and Cassiope tetragona, and t...

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare suitability of aerial hyperspectral data (AISA Dual and APEX sensors) and Sentinel-2A data for classification of tundra vegetation cover in the Krkonoše Mts. National Park. We compared classification results (accuracy, maps) of pixel-based (Maximum Likelihood, Suport Vector Machine and Neural Net) a...

The aim of Natura 2000 network is to ensure the long term survival of most valuable and threatened species and habitats in Europe. The encroachment of invasive alien and expansive native plant species is among the most essential threat that can cause significant damage to protected habitats and their biodiversity. The phenomenon requires comprehens...

Wykonano na zlecenie Ministerstwa Infrastruktury i Budownictwa w ramach projektu pn.: „Zainspiruj naszą przestrzeń – programy szkoleniowe i publikacje dla planistów – etap I”, współfinansowanego ze środków Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój 2014-2020. Warszawa 2017 r. Wykonawca: SmallGIS sp. z o.o. Dostęp: http://archiwum.miir.gov.pl/m...

This paper is focused on Saharan dust transport to Central Europe/Poland; we compare properties of atmospheric Saharan dust using data from NAAPS, MACC, AERONET as well as observations obtained during HyMountEcos campaign in June 2012. Ten years of dust climatology shows that long-range transport of Saharan dust to Central Europe is mostly during s...

Mamy ogromną przyjemność oddać do rąk czytelnika długo oczekiwaną publikację prezentującą opracowania użytkowników licencji SITE oprogramowania ArcGIS na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim. Wspólną i spójną tematyką niniejszego wydania jest wykorzystanie technik Systemów Informacji Przestrzennej (GIS) w różnych dziedzinach: zaczynając od nauk przyrodniczych...

The paper presents a possibility of an application of Imaging Spectroscopy to acquire thematic maps of water quality. Thanks to very high spectral, radiometric and spatial resolution of AISA hyperspectral images, which allow to identify zones of water with different properties. An analysis of the spatial distribution of physico- -chemical parameter...

The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the hyperspectral reflectance of soils and its albedo, measured under various roughness conditions. 108 soil surfaces measurements were conducted in Poland and Israel. Each surface was characterized by its diurnal albedo variation in the field as well as its reflectance spectra that...

Asbestos and asbestos containing products are harmful to human health, and therefore its use has been legally forbidden in the EU. Since there is no adequate data on the amount of asbestos-cement roofing in Poland, the objective of this study was to map asbestos-cement roofing with the use of hyperspectral APEX data (288 bands at the spatial resolu...

Information about vegetation condition is needed for the effective management of natural resources and the estimation of the effectiveness of nature conservation. The aim of the study was to analyse the condition of non-forest mountain communities: synanthropic communities and natural grasslands. UNESCO’s M&B Karkonosze Transboundary Biosphere Rese...

The paper presents a method of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper satellite image processing to assess the condition of forests in the Tatra National Park (southern Poland). Selected images were acquired on 1987/09/01, 2005/09/02 and 2011/09/03 from the same sensor with maximum time interval for the first and last scene and from similar phenological period....

The paper presents a possibility of an application of Imaging Spectroscopy to acquire thematic maps of water quality. Thanks to very high spectral, radiometric and spatial resolution of AISA hyperspectral images, which allow to identify zones of water with different properties. An analysis of the spatial distribution of physico-chemical parameters...

Based on laboratory, field and airborne-acquired hyperspectral data, this paper aims to analyse the dominant minerals and rocks found in the Polish Karkonosze Mountains. Laboratory spectral characteristics were measured with the ASD FieldSpec 3 spectrometer and images were obtained from VITO’s Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) scanner. The terrain i...

Actual land cover maps are a very good source of information on present human activities. It increases value of actual spatial databases and it is a key element for decision makers. Therefore, it is important to develop fast and cheap algorithms and procedures of spatial data updating. Every day, satellite remote sensing deliver vast amount of new...

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the possibilities of touristic development of the La Lopé National Park and to indicate the most important barriers and limitations of the area exploitation. For this purpose a SWOT method was applied. This assignment presents the situation as of the end of 2014. The majority of the up-to-date data was col...

We have compared historical changes in concentrations of the heavy metals Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb accumulated in samples from the Polish woodlands of Beskidy and Karkonosze (S, SE Poland) and the northeast regions of the country, versus the relatively little polluted areas of Spitsbergen of the Svalbard Archipelago. We have combined the results f...

We used hyperspectral data from APEX scanner (288 spectral bands in 380−2500 nm spectral range; 3,5 m spatial resolution) to classify five tree species occurring in the area of Mt. Chojnik in the Karkonoski National Park (south−western Poland). Data used to delimit learning and veri− fication polygons were acquired during field research in August 2...

We used hyperspectral data from APEX scanner (288 spectral bands in 380-2500 nm spectral range; 3,5 m spatial resolution) to classify five tree species occurring in the area of Mt. Chojnik in the Karkonoski National Park (south-western Poland). Data used to delimit learning and verification polygons were acquired during field research in August 201...

This article focuses on utilization of vegetation indices for vegetation phenology analysis based on multitemporal MERIS data. The model data set contained imagery acquired during the vegetation season of the year 2009 and it covered most of the area of the Czech Republic. Databases LPIS and GlobCover were used for spatial delimitation of the obser...

Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) gives the opportunity to carry out research with a re-duced environmental footprint. Unmanned aircraft, including both fixed wing and multi rotor types (helicopters) allow us to collect very high resolution image data for vegetation mapping without the need for any personnel walking into the site and thereby p...

Monitoring vegetation cover, especially in mountain and protected areas is an important issue. The analyses were conducted in Krkonoše Mountains in the Krkonoše National Park, Czech Republic. Heterogeneous non-forest mountain communities were analysed. The aim of the study was to check the possibility of using the Radiative Transfer Model to simula...

This paper evaluates the fitting of the hyperspectral bidirectional reflectance data of soil surfaces formed by a cultivator, a pulverizing harrow, and a smoothing harrow, collected in field conditions as illuminated by direct and diffuse solar radiation, to their bidirectional reflectance equivalents measured in the laboratory with only a direct r...

This research aims to discover the potential of hyperspectral remote sensing data for mapping mountain vegetation ecosystems. First, the importance of mountain ecosystems to the global system should be stressed due to mountainous ecosystems forming a very sensitive indicator of global climate change. Furthermore, a variety of biotic and abiotic fac...

On January 1, 2005 the use of asbestos-containing products was banned in the European Union. According to the Act of 19 June 1997 banning the use of these products, their usage in Poland should be abated by the end of 2032. The whole process is being monitored by the Electronic Spatial Information System for the Monitoring of Asbestos Products Remo...

The paper deals with the evaluation of mountain meadow vegetation condition using in-situ measurements of the fraction of Accumulated Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR) and Leaf Area Index (LAI). The study analyses the relationship between these parameters and spectral properties of meadow vegetation and selected invasive species with the...

The unique set of physical and chemical properties of asbestos has led to its many industrial applications, such as roof coverings, textiles, rope, cord and yarn, paper, friction and composition materials, household product, acid-resistant filters, packing, insulation, and certain types of lagging, amongst others. In Poland asbestos-containing prod...

The goal of the paper is a presentation of field remote sensing methods for the analysis of the trampled plants of a highly protected mountain meadow ecosystem (M&B UNESCO Reserve and one of the most important Polish National Parks). The research area covers a core part of the Western Tatras - the Gąsienicowa Valley and Kasprowy Wierch summit, whic...

Application of Remote Sensing for an Evaluation of Spatial Organization in Poland. Modern space management is based on actual and high-quality data. Such solutions offers remote sensing technology information and techniques that are used for land cover monitoring and inventory. For less experienced users are particularly useful high-resolution imag...

Słowa kluczowe: dwukierunkowość odbicia promieniowania, BRDF, teledetekcyjne wskaźniki roślinne, geometria źródło promieniowania-roślina-detektor The aim of this study is an analysis of an infl uence of geometry electromagnetic radiation (lamp or sun)-research target (leaves)-detector. The electromagnetic radiation was emitted by the lamp ASD Pro...

Słowa kluczowe: Tatrzański Park Narodowy, szata roślinna, teledetekcyjne wskaźniki roślinności, ruch turystyczny, wydep-tywanie, Kasprowy Wierch, Dolina Gąsienicowa, pomiary spektrometryczne, ASD FieldSpec This paper presents analysis of plant cover condition in Gasienicowa Valley in the Tatra Mts. depending on various trampling intensity. Measurem...

This paper shows how strongly the bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) of a harrowed soil surface collected in the field is correlated with the BRF of surface equivalents measured in the laboratory: an undisturbed sample as well as its artificial samples formed from the same soil material with furrows at different scales. The average fitting for...

This work’s objective was to evaluate whether dwarf pine condition along tourist trails, ski routes and on the ski trail, expressed in values of vegetation biophysical parameters differs from dwarf pine shrubs that grow far away from area accessible to tourists and skiers. Maps of LAI and fAPAR were overlaid with map of tourist trails and ski trail...

Celem pracy było stwierdzenie czy opisany za pomocą wskaźników biofizycznych stan kosodrzewiny wzdłuż szlaków turystycznych i nartostrad oraz na trasie narciarskiej różni się od stanu kosodrzewiny rosnącej z dala od terenów udostępnionych. Na mapy wartości LAI i fAPAR zbiorowisk kosodrzewiny nałożono mapy szlaków turystycznych i tras narciarskich w...

In this paper we introduce a methodology to combine decisions of multiple data processing chains using novel algorithms for the selection of the processing chains to be used and also for the data labeling procedure. More specifically we recall how a Hierarchical Binary Decision Tree designing and optimization algorithm can be used to select the mos...

This research aims to discover potential of hyperspectral remote sensing data for mapping high-mountain vegetation ecosystems. First, the importance of mountain ecosystems to global system should be stressed: due to environmental fragility and location of plant species and communities at the upper levels of habitats, mountainous ecosystems form a v...

The goal of this paper is the presentation of a method and results for artificial neural networks crops classification based on HyMap hyperspectral data. The method that uses an ANNs does not only depend on statistical parameters of particular class and hence makes it possible to include texture information. To experiment with variable pattern size...

The paper presents results of plant communities mapping of an alpine and subalpine zones of the Tatra National Park (southern part of the Polish Carpathian Mts.), located within a range of altitudes of 1500-2549 m a. s. l. Classification algorithm based on the hyperspectral DAIS 7915 imagery and the fuzzy ARTMAP (FAM) neural networks simulator of 2...

Remote sensing tools can be used to vegetation monitoring. It is possible to analyze plant physiology and biometrical properties using electromagnetic spectrum. In this study was developed the method of plant monitoring using vegetation indices. The test area is the Bystrzanka catchment in the Polish Low Beskid Mountains. This terrain is specified...

In natural and semi-natural environments, where the anthropopression is relatively low and natural processes are not disturbed, vegetation can be used as an indicator of other ecosystem components (soils, microclimate etc.). The main role of plant condition investigation plays remote sensing and supportive techniques within plant physiology.

The goal of this paper is methods and results presentation of artificial neural networks land cover classification based on DAIS 7915 hyperspectral data. Preparing the reference and training data were used SAM classification. To ANN classification experiments using variable pattern size were chosen two data sets included 13 bands obtained after MNF...

Remote sensing data can be used in variety of studies. Hyperspectral data, which are used in this study, give lots of possibilities; it is caused by high spectral, spatial and radiometric resolutions. Imagine Spectroscopy can be used to researches of vegetation, its condition, biomass production and also for land cover analyzing. Using vegetation i...