ID: 51487
Title: Vegetation analysis along the disturbance gradient in tropical dry deciduous forest of Hastinapur
Author: Poonam Khurana and R.S.Saxena
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Vegetation Analysis, Disturbance Gradient, Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest, Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh
Abstract: The present study deals with vegetation and species diversity analysis of tropical dry deciduous forest in Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh) along the disturbance gradient. Disturbance occurs in chronic form where a small part of forest is removed at a given time, besides this natural competition, grazing, fire and deforestation are other important causes of disturbances in this forest. Three sites were selected for detailed vegetation study of tree and shrub layer (Hillock, block - I and block-2). Hillock was highly disturbed, while Block-1 and Block-2 were moderately and least disturbed sites respectively. Total tree density varied from 8.52 Ind 100 m-2 to 9.9 Ind 100 m-2, while total seedling and sapling density varied between 2.0 Ind 100 m-2 to 7.0 Ind 100 m-2 and 5.35 Ind 100 m-2 and 6.90 Ind 100 m-2 respectively. Density value increased with decreasing distribance. Values of basal cover of trees seedling and sapling were also increased with decreasing disturbance. Density and abundance of shrub layer ranged between 52.25 and 97.6 Ind 100 m-2 and 65.25 and 122.13 Ind 100 m-2 respectively. Species richness for both tree and shrub layer decreased with decreasing disturbance. Species diversity decreased in similar fashion as species richness.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51486
Title: Adoption of poplar-based agroforestry as an approach for diversified agriculture in Punjab
Author: Sanjeev K.Chauhan, R.K.Nanda and M.S. Brar
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Poplar-Based Agroforestry, Diversified Agriculture, Punjab
Abstract: Agroforestry that envisages integration of trees, herbaceous crops and /or animals on the same land unit, holds promising potential in Punjab to diversify traditional rice-wheat rotation. On the basis of information provided by the respondents, it was realized that the farmers with low awareness, unfavourable attitude and constraints (land, technical, financial, legal, social, etc) are not able to adopt poplar (Populus deltoides)- based agroforestry successfully. In poplar-wheat agroforestry system, growing condition of wheat are modified due to presence of tree and , thus, response of wheat differs than that of tree-less agricultural system. Age of poplar trees is recorded as most important factor influencing wheat grain (var. PBW 343) yield. On an average, reduction in grain yield was 20.10 percent under one year old poplar plantation, which increased to 54 percent under four year old plantation. Under irrigated poplar-based agro-ecosystem, light is the major limiting factor of reduction in grain yield.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51485
Title: Relative preference to host plants by a polyphagous insect, Spilarctia obliqua Walk. (Lepidoptera : Arctiidae)
Author: Mohammad Faisal and Mukhtar Ahmad
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Polyphagous insect, Spilarctia obliqua Walk, Host plants, Relative preference
Abstract: Spilarctia obliqua, commonly known as ' Bihar hairy caterpillar ' , is a polyphagous pest of great economic value. Its sporadic presence has been recorded on variety of food plants of agriculture and forestry importance. Relative feeding preference of S. obliqua has been studied by providing measured leaves of its five main host plants including Brassica compestris, Paulownia fortunei, Populus deltoides, Tectona grandis and Toona ciliata to different larval instars. A single larva of S. obliqua during its total larval period has consumed 377.32 mg foliage of P. fortunei which is the maximum among the five host plants tested. It was followed by B.compestris (150.19 mg), P. deltoides (72.60 mg), T.grandis (60.00 mg) and T.ciliata (43.81 mg). Taking consumption of average leaf area as the criteria, maximum leaf area of 991.14 mm2 of P.fortunei was found consumed while that of T.ciliata was minimum (138.15 mm2). Larva consumed 442.86 mm2 leaf area of B.compestris and 195.90 mm2 and 176.71 mm2 of P.deltoides and T.grandis respectively.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51484
Title: Forest resource utilization by tribal community of Jaunsar, Uttarakhand
Author: Rajiv Pandey
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Jaunsar-Bawar, Uttarakhand, Forest resources, Forest utilization, Tribals, Forest-dependent community
Abstract: The life of Jaunsaris, a tribal community of Jaunsar Bawar of Dehra Dun District, depends mainly on farming and forest resources. Farming in Jaunsar is of subsistence nature and heavily depending on rains. Therefore utilization of forest resources is the key for survival of the people of Jaunsar. This study provides details about the use of forest resources ranging from wild edible food to the non food items by these hilly tribal. Data was collected based on a pre tested questionaire containing arrays of forest resources being utilized by them from 302 randomly selected households distributed in 34 villages of the region. This paper discusses about the use of forest resource and its contribution for the survival of the community. It classified forest resources based on characteristics of use by the Jaunsaries as consumption goods, durable goods, agricultural inputs, inputs for other production and asset formation. The proportion of households using forest resources has also been explored under different categories. Study clearly showed the dependency of this community on the forest, utilizing its resources for different requirements. Depletion of the forest is very critical for the survival of Jaunsaris. Therefore, policy makers must consider those policy instruments, which should conserve the forest besides providing the alternate solutions for these resources.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51483
Title: Stakeholders approach for medicinal plants cultivation: A case study from Tamil Nadu
Author: D.Debnath
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Medicinal plants, Conservation, Stakeholders, Livelihood promotion
Abstract: India is recognised as one of the countries having the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions associated with the use of herbal medicines. But due to over-harvesting in their natural habitats, many medicinal plants have been put on the endangered list of IUCN. These can not be exported from India, though the Planning Commission, Govt. of India, has set up plans to increase trade in medicinal plants extracts. Hence, cultivation is preferable to in-situ conservation, as recommended by National Medicinal Plants Board and simultaneously the dissemination of knowledge for trade for the livelihood security of the Indian ruralites. The Tamil Nadu experiment in Vellore Forest Division in the Vellore District has developed a model of stakeholders ' approach for cultivating the medicinal plants. This is an outcome of the Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project (TAP), sponsored by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). This is a collaborative effort of a traditional Sidda Practitioner, the Forest Department and the local communities. Beginning from awareness development towards the benefits of the herbal medicines by the local medicinal practitioners, development of the medicinal plants garden, to the involvement of Self-Help groups for planting the medicinal plants in their kitchen garden and homestead land for their livelihoods promotion. This paper attempts to develop a model through various stakeholders for cultivation of medicinal plants.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51482
Title: Individual tree, intra- and inter-clonal variations in wood properties of the clonal ramets of Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm
Author: P.K.Pande and Magan Singh
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm., Clonal variation, Intra-, Inter-tree, Wood properties, Lalkuan,Bannakhera, Uttarakhand
Abstract: Within tree, intra- and inter-clonal variations in wood anatomical properties of 4 years old clonal ramets of Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. were investigated. The material was collected from Clonal Testing Area, Lalkuan (Haldwani) and Bannakhera. The twelve best clonal ramets of better growth and form from Lalkuan and 5 clones of ITC-Bhadrachalam planted at Bannakhera were selected for the study. Radial variations in all the individual ramets were non-significant for all anatomical properties investigated, while inter-clonal variations were significant. Intra-clonal variations were non-significant. The values of Runkel ratio, shape factor and fibre-length to diameter ratio of the selected clones from Lalkuan were well within the permissible limits for producing better pulp. The wood properties of the clones were comparable with the clones of ITC-Bhadrachalam grown in South India except for fibre-length, Runkel ratio and shape factor which were significantly higher in South India. ITC-Bhadrachalam clones grown in Bannakhera and Lalkuan clones were not different from each other on the basis of wood anatomical properties. They grouped differently for wood anatomical characters. Fibre-length of different clones of the present study was comparable with the 8-10 year old seedling seed-raised plantation of the same species. Clone raised plantation wood showed better paper making wood properties than of the seedling seed raised trees even at the early age.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51481
Title: Floral biology and breeding behaviour in Karanj (Pongamia pinnata L. Pierre)
Author: R.S.Dhillon, M.S. Hooda, K.S. Ahlawat and S.Kumari
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Pongamia pinnata L. Pierre (karanj), Floral Biology, Breeding Behaviour
Abstract: Studies on reproductive biology and breeding behaviour in Karanj (Pongamia pinnata) indicated that the initiation of buds appeared along with new foliage during first half of April. Inflorescence was a raceme or panicle with 43-88 floral buds which took 13-16 days to bloom.Anthesis was acropetally. Above 70 percent buds opened between 0630 to 0830 hrs. Hermaphrodite flowers began to close at 1730 hrs onwards and closed completely by 1900 hrs of the same day. Peak flowering was from 13 to 21 days. Pod setting and development was maximum from June to August. Complete development and maturity took some 323-344 days. The dehiscence of anther started 2-3 h prior to anthesis and stigma receptivity was approximately one hour after dehiscence and continued till 1500 hrs. Honeybees, wasps and thrips were the major pollinators. Since there was no pod setting under selfing bags and open pollination was considerably low (9.6 to 40 percent), the species appears predominantly cross fertilizing.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51480
Title: Lac cultivation as a riskcoping strategry for agriculture in Jharkhand
Author: Govind Pal, M.L.Bhagat and A.Bhattacharya
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Lac Cultivation, Risk-coping Stratergy, Agriculture, Jharkhand
Abstract: The present paper is based on the analysis of survey data of 500 lac growers of Ranchi and West Singhbhum districts in the year 2003-04 and 2004-05. Primary data has been collected from the lac growers. The analysis of survey data shows that contribution of lac in total income and farm income was 18.5% and 26.4% respectively for untrained, while 24.0% and 32.0% respectively for trained lac growers. Cost of cultivation and net return per host on Palas (Butea monosperma) worked out to Rs 51.30 and Rs 97.70 respectively for untrained and Rs 70.70 and Rs 163.40 respectively for trained lac growers. Cost of cultivation and net return per host on Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana) worked out to Rs. 93.50 and Rs 195.40 respectively for untrained and Rs. 159.20 and Rs 418.30 respectively for trained lac growers. Cost of cultivation and net return per host on Kusum (Schleichera oleosa) worked out to Rs 688.10 and Rs 1,628.40 respectively for untrained and Rs 1,104.20 and Rs 3,312.90 respectively for trained lac growers. Due to very low investment in fixed cost, break even production was very low in comparison to existing production for both untrained and trained lac growers. Low break even prices show that risk in lac cultivation is very low and it will be a profitable enterprise even in low lac prices. Risk bearing ability was more in case of trained lac growers in comparison to untrained lac growers.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51479
Title: Nutrient cycling in young Teak plantation II- Biomass production and nutrient cycling
Author: V.Subramanian, C.Buvaneswaran, K.Rajagopal and M. George
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Nutient Cycling, Young Teak Plantation, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Abstract: Biomass production and nutrient cycling studies were carried out in a young teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) plantation of five year old (density 2,500 trees ha-1). The trees attained an average girth and height of 23.1 cm and 7.6 m, respectively and the above ground biomass (agb) amounted to 76.9 t/ha, of which stem wood contributed 60%. The percentage of root to agb was 20.5%. Investigations on nutrient content in the standing crop have shown that the percent concentration of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were highest in leaf. But on unit area basis, wood accumulated the major portion (39 to 60%) of all nutrients. Among the nutrients, maximum accumulation was accounted for Ca (1,619 kg ha-1) and the minimum for P (178 kg ha-1). With reference to nutrient return via litter, it was observed that the total litter produced was 4,574 kg ha-1 and the nutrients returned amounted to 46 kg ha-1 N; 3 kg ha-1 P; 39 kg ha-1 K; 86 kg ha-1 Ca and 21 kg ha-1 Mg. Studies on interception of rainfall and nutrient return through rain-wash have shown that among the nutrients return was highest for Ca (1.87 kg ha-1 ) followed by Mg (1.09 kg ha-1 ), K (0.98 kg ha-1 ), N (0.36 kg ha-1 ) and the least for P (0.11 kg ha-1 ). Nutrient cycling on an annual basis was worked out for the plantation and it was found that of the total uptake of various nutrients (178 Kg N ha 1 yr 1, 248 kg K ha-1yr-1, 387 kg Ca ha-1yr-1, and 109 Kg Mg ha-1yr-1, 74 to 91% was retained in the non-photosynthetic biomass and the rest returned to soil. These results were compared with nutrient cycling in 20-year-old teak plantation and found that at younger age teak retains more nutrients in its biomass. As the plantation gets older, it retains less and returns more quantity of nutrients.These results suggest that as the age of plantation increases, teak becomes an eco-friendly species by not adversely affecting the ecology of the site.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51478
Title: Safe transportation of field planting stocks of sympodial bamboos with special reference to saplings
Author: Adarsh Kumar and S.S.Jain
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Sympodial Bamboos, Field Planting Stock, Saplings, Safe Transportation
Abstract: One of the activities of National Bamboo Mission (NBM-India) involves the production of bamboo planting stocks and raising plantations not only to overcome the shortage of bamboos in the country but also to promote the export of bamboo products. The plantations activities involves safe transportation of bamboo planting stocks from nurseries to planting sites. Their safe transportation from nursery to field planting site is as vital as production of field plantable bamboo saplings in the nurseries. It is absolutely essential that the saplings reach the destination in undamaged and uninjured condition. This is one of the most practical and applied aspect of the plantation technology. The bamboo seedlings/saplings need proper protection against high ambient temperature, gusty wind and mechanical vibrations due to speed of the truck (carrying field planting stocks) during transit. The trucks need to have double layered tarpaulin roofing to protect the planting stocks from heat of the sun; proper ventilation for the respiration by the planting stocks and also to prevent the accumulation of carbon di oxide besides protecting the saplings from the gusty wind. Proper care for the planting stock is also utmost requirement, to maintain sufficient moisture for the plants to maintain uptake of nutrients, during transit.The practice adopted at Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehra Dun under Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehra Dun has been described.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51477
Title: Effect of temperature and relative humidity on different life stages of Spirama retorta Cram. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Author: S.Sambath, K.C.Joshi and R.Krishnamurthy
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Spirama retorta, epidemic, Albizia lebbek, A.procera
Abstract: Temperature and humidity are the two main factors that influence the rate of survival, oviposition, growth and development and the fecundity of an insect. Experiments were carried out during 1996-97 to determine the effect of temperature and relative humidity on the egg, larval, pre-pupal and pupal period of Albizia foliage feeder, Spirama retorta Cram. (Lepidoptera:Noctuidae), a devastating pest of forest nurseries and young plantations in Central India. The recorded field temperature during study/survey period was 5 to 45 oC and relative humidity 20 to 80% in Central India covering the state of Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Orissa. Study of the effect of temperature and humidity revealed that the best suited optimum temperature and relative humidity was between 30-35oC and 60-80% which enhanced the viability of eggs and shortened the egg, larval, pre-pupal and pupal duration. Low temperature (5-25oC) and humidity (20-60%) lessened the viability of eggs and increased the mortality and the duration of various life stages. The maximum mean viability of eggs (99.00 + 1.00) was recorded at 30oC and 80% where as the shortest egg period was 3 - 4 days observed at 35oC and 40 - 80% relative humidity. The shortest mean period in days was also observed for larval (11.12 + 0.3750), prepupal (1.62 + 0.1250) and pupal (9.67+ 0.2870) between 30 - 35oC and 60 - 80%. These findings were correlated with the field temperature and humidity and found that temperature, humidity and species of food plants (quantitative and qualitative) favored this insect to occur in an epidemic condition, in forest nurseries and young plantations during monsoon season.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51476
Title: Object-based Detection and Classification of Vehicles from High-resolution Aerial Photography
Author: Ashley C.Holt, Edmund Y.W.Seto, Tom Rivard, and Peng Gong
Editor: Russell G.Congalton
Year: 2009
Publisher: ASPRS, Vol 75, No 7, July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Noise pollution, Air quality models, Traffic volume analysis, Vehicle volume, vehicle type distribution, aerial photos, car, medium-sized truck, buses/heavy truck
Abstract: Vehicle counts and truck percentages are important input variables in both noise pollution and air quality models, but the acquisition of these variables through fixed-point methods can be expensive, labor-intensive, and provide incomplete spatial sampling. The increasing availability and decreasing cost of high spatial resolution imagery provides an apportunity to improve the descriptive ability of traffic volume analysis. This study describes an object-based classification technique to extract vehicle volumes and vehicle type distributions from aerial photos sampled throughout a large metropolitan area. We developed rules for optimizing segmentation parameters, and used feature space optimization to choose classification attributes and develop fuzzy-set memberships for classification. Vehicles were extracted from street areas with 91.8 percent accuracy. Furthermore, separation of vehicles into classes based on car, medium-sized truck, and buses/heavy truck definitions was achieved with 87.5 percent accuracy. We discuss implications of these results for traffic volume analysis and parameterization of existing noise and air pollution models, and suggest future work for traffic assessment using high-resolution remotely-sensed imagery.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51475
Title: Traffic Monitoring using Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery
Author: Siri ?Yen Larsen, Hans Koren, and Rune Solberg
Editor: Russell G.Congalton
Year: 2009
Publisher: ASPRS, Vol 75, No 7, July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
Keywords: road traffic, Quick-Bird images, Pressure sensors, Video surveillance, Vehicle shadows, noise , vehicles
Abstract: Very high resolution satellite images allow automated monitoring of road traffic conditions. Satellite surveillance has several obvious advantages over current methods, which consist of expensive single-point measurements made from pressure sensors, video surveillance, etc., in/or close to the raod. The main limitation of using satellite surveillance is the time resolution; the continuously changing traffic situation must be deduced from a snapshot image. In cooperation with the Norwegian Road Authorities, we have developed an approach for detection of vehicles in Quick-Bird images. The algorithm consists of a segmentation step followed by object-based maximum likelihood classification. Additionally, we propose a new appraoch for prediction of vehicle shadows. The shadow information is used as a contextual feature in order to improve classification.The correct classification rate was 89 percent, excluding noise samples. The proposed method tends to underestimate the number of vehicles when compared to manual counts and in - road equipment counts.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51474
Title: Automated Urban Delineation from Landsat Imagery Based on Spatial Information Processing
Author: Bert Guindon and Ying Zhang
Editor: Russell G.Congalton
Year: 2009
Publisher: ASPRS, Vol 75, No 7, July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Line thresholds, Urban/rural road network model, Landsat Thematic Mapper data, urban landscapes,Spectral-spatial data
Abstract: Methodologies are developed and assessed for the delineation of urban areas on moderate resolution satellite images based on line feature extraction and processing. It is argued that a simple two component urban/rural road network model and a preliminary estimate of the extent of urban cover in a satellite scene can be used to quantify processing settings, such as line thresholds. As a result, urban delineation can be fully automated. Tests have been conducted with Landsat Thematic Mapper data of a candidate set of cities that exemplify the spectrum of North American urban landscapes. Producer accuracies in the range 60 to 80 percent are consistently for a variety of urban landscapes. While these performance levels are lower than those previously reported for small area, city-specific studies, they are comparable to those previously achieved in large-area, approaches (e.g., the National Land Cover Dataset initiative) that rely primarily on spectral attributes. It is concluded that better integrated use of spectral-spatial data processing have the potential to lead to improved operational urban mapping accuracies.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51473
Title: Developing Collaborative Classifiers using an Expert-based Model
Author: Giorgos Mountrakis, Raymond watts, Lori Luo, and Jida Wang
Editor: Russell G.Congalton
Year: 2009
Publisher: ASPRS, Vol 75, No 7, July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Image classification,2001 Landsat ,Enviornment, Human-induced alterations
Abstract: This paper presents a hierarchial, multi-stage adaptive stratergy for image classification. We iteratively apply various classification methods (e.g., decision trees, neural networks), identify regions of parametric and geographic space where accuracy is low, and in these regions, test and apply alternate methods repeating the process until the entire image is classified. Currently, classifiers are evaluated through human input using an expert-based system; therefore, this paper acts as the proof of concept for collaborative classifiers. Because we decompose the problem into smaller, more manageable sub-tasks, our classification exhibits increased flexibility compared to existing methods since classification methods are tailored to the idiosyncrasies of specific regions. A major benefit of our approach is its scalability and collaborative support since selected low-accuracy classifiers can be easily replaced with others without affecting classification accuracy in high accuracy areas. At each stage, we develop spatially explicit accuracy metrics that provide straightforward assessment of results by non-experts and point to areas that need algorithmic improvement or ancillary data. Our approach is demonstrated in the task of detecting impervious surface areas, an important indicator for human-induced alterations to the enviornment, using a 2001 Landsat scene from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None