ABSTRACT
A study evaluated forest dynamics within and around the Olympic National Park using time-series Landsat observations.[12] The Olympic National Park (ONP) was established in the 1930s to protect the diversity of its ecosystems. It has some of the best examples of intact temperate rainforest in the Pacifi c Northwest and is home to endemic species. In 1976, it was designated by the UNESCO as an International Biosphere Reserve, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981. However, due to extensive logging in the early 20th century, most of the unprotected old growth forests outside the ONP and the Olympic National Forests were lost, and some of the private lands in the peninsular are among the most heavily logged in the United States. Viable protection of the unique biodiversity of the Olympic Peninsula requires continuous monitoring of forest dynamics. The time-series approach using remote sensing data allows reconstruction of disturbance history over the last decades by taking advantage of the temporal depth of the Landsat archive, and can be used to provide continuous monitoring as new satellite images are acquired.
