{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T13:25:33Z","timestamp":1777469133010,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,22]],"date-time":"2019-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1548115200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000923","name":"Australian Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FT100100338"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FT100100338"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000923","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000937","name":"Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Endeavour Scholarship 3704_2014"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Endeavour Scholarship 3704_2014"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000937","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland","award":["student research grant 2016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["student research grant 2016"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Conservation planning and population assessment for widely-distributed, but vulnerable, arboreal folivore species demands cost-effective mapping of habitat suitability over large areas. This study tested whether multispectral data from WorldView-3 could be used to estimate and map foliar digestible nitrogen (DigN), a nutritional measure superior to total nitrogen for tannin-rich foliage for the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). We acquired two WorldView-3 images (November 2015) and collected leaf samples from Eucalyptus woodlands in semi-arid eastern Australia. Linear regression indicated the normalized difference index using bands \u201cCoastal\u201d and \u201cNIR1\u201d best estimated DigN concentration (% dry matter, R2 = 0.70, RMSE = 0.19%). Foliar DigN concentration was mapped for multi-species Eucalyptus open woodlands across two landscapes using this index. This mapping method was tested on a WorldView-2 image (October 2012) with associated koala tracking data (August 2010 to November 2011) from a different landscape of the study region. Quantile regression showed significant positive relationship between estimated DigN and occurrence of koalas at 0.999 quantile (R2 = 0.63). This study reports the first attempt to use a multispectral satellite-derived spectral index for mapping foliar DigN at a landscape-scale (100s km2). The mapping method can potentially be incorporated in mapping and monitoring koala habitat suitability for conservation management.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs11030215","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,24]],"date-time":"2019-01-24T03:52:32Z","timestamp":1548301952000},"page":"215","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Mapping Foliar Nutrition Using WorldView-3 and WorldView-2 to Assess Koala Habitat Suitability"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0624-1927","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Huiying","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9434-7501","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Noam","family":"Levin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia"},{"name":"Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Leonie","family":"Seabrook","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ben","family":"Moore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Clive","family":"McAlpine","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Environment Protection Authority (2016, May 12). Koala Habitat Mapping Pilot: NSW State Forests, Available online: www.epa.nsw.gov.au."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1071\/WR07177","article-title":"Ranking and mapping koala habitat quality for conservation planning on the basis of indirect evidence of tree-species use: A case study of Noosa Shire, south-eastern Queensland","volume":"38","author":"Callaghan","year":"2011","journal-title":"Wildl. Res."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"GHD (2018, April 21). South East Queensland Koala Habitat Assessment and Mapping Project, Available online: https:\/\/data.qld.gov.au\/dataset\/koala-planning-areas-version-1-2-south-east-queensland-data-package."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"186","DOI":"10.1071\/PC980186","article-title":"Determining the distribution of koala habitat across a shire as a basis for conservation: A case study from Port Stephens, New South Wales","volume":"4","author":"Lunney","year":"1998","journal-title":"Pac. Conserv. Biol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocon.2006.03.021","article-title":"The importance of forest area and configuration relative to local habitat factors for conserving forest mammals: A case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia","volume":"132","author":"McAlpine","year":"2006","journal-title":"Biol. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lunney, D. (2004). The role of nutrition in the conservation of the marsupial folivores of eucalypt forests. Conservation of Australia\u2019s Forest Fauna, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.","DOI":"10.7882\/9780958608589"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Woinarski, J., and Burbidge, A. (2017, June 05). Phascolarctos Cinereus. Available online: https:\/\/www.iucnredlist.org\/species\/16892\/21960344."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"873","DOI":"10.1007\/s00442-013-2808-3","article-title":"Feeding rates of a mammalian browser confirm the predictions of a \u2018foodscape\u2019 model of its habitat","volume":"174","author":"Marsh","year":"2014","journal-title":"Oecologia"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3165","DOI":"10.1890\/09-1714.1","article-title":"Palatability mapping: A koala\u2019s eye view of spatial variation in habitat quality","volume":"91","author":"Moore","year":"2010","journal-title":"Ecology"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.1071\/WR9960185","article-title":"Characteristics of arboreal marsupial habitat in the semi-arid woodlands of northern Queensland","volume":"23","author":"Munks","year":"1996","journal-title":"Wildl. Res."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.7882\/AZ.2012.009","article-title":"The dietary preferences of koalas, Phascolarctos cinereus, in southwest Queensland","volume":"36","author":"Wu","year":"2012","journal-title":"Aust. Zool."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mertl-Millhollen, A.S., Rambeloarivony, H., Miles, W., Kaiser, V., Gray, L., Dorn, L., Williams, G., and Rasamimanana, H. (2006). The influence of tamarind tree quality and quantity on Lemur catta behavior. Ringtailed Lemur Biology, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-34126-2_8"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1017\/S026646741200003X","article-title":"Leaf nutritional quality as a predictor of primate biomass: Further evidence of an ecological anomaly within prosimian communities in Madagascar","volume":"28","author":"Simmen","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Trop. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1007\/s00442-008-0960-y","article-title":"A simple, integrative assay to quantify nutritional quality of browses for herbivores","volume":"156","author":"DeGabriel","year":"2008","journal-title":"Oecologia"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"711","DOI":"10.1890\/08-0940.1","article-title":"The effects of plant defensive chemistry on nutrient availability predict reproductive success in a mammal","volume":"90","author":"DeGabriel","year":"2009","journal-title":"Ecology"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2009.08.010","article-title":"Forage quality of savannas\u2014Simultaneously mapping foliar protein and polyphenols for trees and grass using hyperspectral imagery","volume":"114","author":"Skidmore","year":"2010","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4183","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160701422213","article-title":"Using in-situ measurements to evaluate the new RapidEye\u2122 satellite series for prediction of wheat nitrogen status","volume":"28","author":"Eitel","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"147","article-title":"A comparison of satellite hyperspectral and multispectral remote sensing imagery for improved classification and mapping of vegetation","volume":"34","author":"Govender","year":"2008","journal-title":"Water"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"416","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2041-210X.2011.00149.x","article-title":"Using imaging spectroscopy to estimate integrated measures of foliage nutritional quality","volume":"3","author":"Youngentob","year":"2012","journal-title":"Methods Ecol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4385","DOI":"10.1109\/JSTARS.2014.2320601","article-title":"Estimation of canopy nitrogen concentration across C3 and C4 grasslands using Worldview-2 multispectral data","volume":"7","author":"Adjorlolo","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Obs. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"513","article-title":"Linking remotely sensed forage quality estimates from WorldView-2 multispectral data with cattle distribution in a savanna landscape","volume":"21","author":"Zengeya","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1394","DOI":"10.1590\/S0100-204X2013001000011","article-title":"Multispectral remote sensing for site-specific nitrogen fertilizer management","volume":"48","author":"Bagheri","year":"2013","journal-title":"Pesqui. Agropecu. Bras."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6279","DOI":"10.5194\/bg-10-6279-2013","article-title":"Remote sensing of LAI, chlorophyll and leaf nitrogen pools of crop- and grasslands in five European landscapes","volume":"10","author":"Boegh","year":"2013","journal-title":"Biogeosciences"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"549","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160500117907","article-title":"Measuring wheat nitrogen status from space and ground-based platform","volume":"27","author":"Reyniers","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4565","DOI":"10.3390\/rs70404565","article-title":"Potential of space-borne hyperspectral data for biomass quantification in an arid environment: Advantages and limitations","volume":"7","author":"Zandler","year":"2015","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chemura, A., Mutanga, O., Odindi, J., and Kutywayo, D. (2018). Mapping spatial variability of foliar nitrogen in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plantations with multispectral Sentinel-2 MSI data. ISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sens., 138.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.isprsjprs.2018.02.004"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Verma, N., Lamb, D., Reid, N., and Wilson, B. (2016). Comparison of canopy volume measurements of scattered eucalypt farm trees derived from high spatial resolution imagery and LiDAR. Remote Sens., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs8050388"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1186\/2051-3933-1-8","article-title":"Movement patterns of an arboreal marsupial at the edge of its range: A case study of the koala","volume":"1","author":"Davies","year":"2013","journal-title":"Mov. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Ream, B. (2013). Mapping Eucalypts in South-West Queensland: Answering the Question Can Fine Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Be Used to Map Eucalypt Composition. [Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Queensland]."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1111\/ddi.12152","article-title":"Determining range edges: Habitat quality, climate or climate extremes?","volume":"20","author":"Seabrook","year":"2014","journal-title":"Divers. Distrib."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"(2016, October 31). Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Climate Data Online, Available online: http:\/\/www.bom.gov.au\/water\/landscape\/."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Rouse, J., Harlan, J., Haas, R., Schell, J., and Deering, D. (1974). Monitoring the Vernal Advancement and Retrogradation (Green Wave Effect) of Natural Vegetation, Remote Sensing Center, Texas A&M University."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"416","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(02)00018-4","article-title":"Integrated narrow-band vegetation indices for prediction of crop chlorophyll content for application to precision agriculture","volume":"81","author":"Haboudane","year":"2002","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5127","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160903283892","article-title":"SWIR-based spectral indices for assessing nitrogen content in potato fields","volume":"31","author":"Herrmann","year":"2010","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1016\/0034-4257(95)00186-7","article-title":"Optimization of soil-adjusted vegetation indices","volume":"55","author":"Rondeaux","year":"1996","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(00)00113-9","article-title":"Estimating corn leaf chlorophyll concentration from leaf and canopy reflectance","volume":"74","author":"Daughtry","year":"2000","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2003.12.013","article-title":"Hyperspectral vegetation indices and novel algorithms for predicting green LAI of crop canopies: Modeling and validation in the context of precision agriculture","volume":"90","author":"Haboudane","year":"2004","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"639","DOI":"10.1071\/WR13104","article-title":"Continuous monitoring of feeding by koalas highlights diurnal differences in tree preferences","volume":"40","author":"Marsh","year":"2014","journal-title":"Wildl. Res."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1890\/1540-9295(2003)001[0412:AGITQR]2.0.CO;2","article-title":"A gentle introduction to quantile regression for ecologists","volume":"1","author":"Cade","year":"2003","journal-title":"Front. Ecol. Environ."},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"Davies, N. (Personal communication, 2014). Personal communication."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stalenberg, E., Wallis, I., Cunningham, R., Allen, C., and Foley, W. (2014). Nutritional correlates of koala persistence in a low-density population. PLoS ONE, 9.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0113930"},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"178","article-title":"Evaluating the robustness of models developed from field spectral data in predicting African grass foliar nitrogen concentration using WorldView-2 image as an independent test dataset","volume":"34","author":"Mutanga","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"271","DOI":"10.1016\/0034-4257(89)90069-2","article-title":"Remote sensing of foliar chemistry","volume":"30","author":"Curran","year":"1989","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3039","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160110104683","article-title":"Spectral characteristics of lignin and soluble phenolics in the near infrared- a comparative study","volume":"23","author":"Soukupova","year":"2002","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1338","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2003.813135","article-title":"Prediction of eucalypt foliage nitrogen content from satellite-derived hyperspectral data","volume":"41","author":"Coops","year":"2003","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"Williams, P.C., and Norris, K. (2001). Implementation of Near-infrared technology. Near-Infrared Technology: In the Agricultural and Food Industries, American Association of Cereal Chemists. [2nd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(01)00182-1","article-title":"Estimating the foliar biochemical concentration of leaves with reflectance spectrometry","volume":"76","author":"Curran","year":"2001","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1413","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160500497119","article-title":"A bootstrap procedure to select hyperspectral wavebands related to tannin content","volume":"27","author":"Ferwerda","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/11\/3\/215\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T12:27:50Z","timestamp":1760185670000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/11\/3\/215"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,22]]},"references-count":48,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,2]]}},"alternative-id":["rs11030215"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs11030215","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,22]]}}}