ANALYSIS OF SPECTRAL SIGNATURE OF THE SPECIES POLYLEPIS RETICULATA USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES IN A HIGH ANDEAN COSYSTEM OF THE PROVINCE OF TUNGURAHUA

The reflective energy measured in each living being, part of the principle that bodies absorb specific wavelengths and reflect others in certain proportions, this captured energy is obtained information about matter and its interaction. The objective of this research was to perform an analysis of the spectral signature in the species Polylepis reticulata with Sentinel 2 images in the Sachafilo forest, Tungurahua-Ecuador. For which the forest was georeferenced, the data obtained entered the ArcGis 10.8 software; Two satellite scenes corresponding to the wet and dry seasons were taken, performing a stratified random sampling and then validating data through the confusion matrix to assess this classification model; With the sampling the reflectance values were acquired and with it obtain the representative signature of the species, as well as of the other cover that inhabit the forest in the two seasons of the year; in addition, the coverage of the species was visually determined using the SAVI index. The signatures obtained from the species at both times of the year did not show high variation in the wavelength trend, but the dry season signature showed a small decrease in reflectance; Regarding the signature of the herbaceous cover compared to the signature of the species, there was a similar trend, but with a high variation in reflectivity; Regarding the coverage of the species, a vegetation of medium density was obtained. The variation of reflectance in the species may be due to factors such as angles of the sun, shadows and atmospheric conditions while the variation of the reflectance presented by the herbaceous cover may be due to the presence of pests, ambient temperature, phenological state and even activities such as flowering and germination.