Given optical satellite or aerial imagery of a resolution similar to the image below, is it possible to accurately detect clearcut areas?
Is there research or documentation that supports a specific methodology (e.g. object-oriented classification which considers contrast and geometry)?
How can this process be automated over areas ~1000km^2?
Best Answer
For a fantastic way to detect, visualize, and report your findings to the public, check out the Landtrendr (Landsat-based Detection of Trends in Disturbance and Recovery) program from OSU. The Landtrendr program is one of the most exciting recent developments in change detection research. There is very good documentation on the methods, and Landtrendr code is available from GitHub. Here is a link to a NASA video describing the process: Landsat Senses a Disturbance in the Forest.
Landsat 8 and/or Sentinel-2 will likely be the best available (free) data for detecting clearcuts at very large spatial extents. Additionally, there are plenty of data available from previous Landsat missions at Glovis and EarthExplorer.
More traditional approaches include digital processing of multispectral imagery through a variety of methods:
Landtrendr resources: