Mapping Biotic Damages Using Satellite Data; M. Schardt, K. Martin & M. Keil
Forest Damage Classification with Remote Sensing & GIS; M. Schardt et al.
Airborne Videography for Forest Damage Assessment; Jacobs & Eggen-McIntosh
Identifying AVHRR Hot Spots as Forest Fires Using Data Bases; Ruliang et al.
GIS and Inventory Technologies Pay Off in Hurricane Hugo Recovery; R. Daniels
Black Forest Storm Damage Assessment with Satellite Data; S. Kuntz, C. Kleinn
SPOT Satellite Imagery: A Resource for Disaster Assessment; W. Novajosky
ASSESSMENT OF ASH WEEVIL DEFOLIATION USING CIR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS
V. Kusan, Z. Kalafadzic, R. Pernar & I. Fliszar
The University of Zagreb, Croatia
ABSTRACT
Color infrared (CIR) transparencies were used for forest decline assessment
in lowland oak and ash forest in central Sava Valley (Croatia). In the year
of obtaining aerial photographs the narrow leafed ash was partly defoliated by
ash weevil. The methodology for assessment of stage of defoliation for
individual trees and stands were investigated. The PC ARC/INFO was used for
mapping the stage of defoliation. The stage of defoliation was studied in
relationships with several factors of stand and environment.
MAPPING OF BIOTIC DAMAGES USING SATELLITE DATA
Mathias Schardt
Technical University of Berlin
Klaus Martin
SLU Consulting Grafelfing near Munich
ABSTRACT
In 1987 large parts of the "Nurnberger Reichswald" were damaged by a moth
calamity (Lymantria monacha). Very often this moth appears in great numbers
and then leads to very serious forest decline. The caterpillar eats the
needles and leaves of all tree species, preferably the needles of spruce
(Picea abies) and pine (Pinus silvestris). The most serious effects of the
calamity occurred in the pine stands of the forest district "Allersberg",
which is located 30 km south of Nurnberg. The damages in the pine stands were
homogeneous, so that it was possible to separate homogeneous areas of
different damage classes.
The damaged area and the level of damages were mapped by using satellite
data from Landsat Thematic Mapper. For the investigation Landsat Thematic
Mapper scenes of three different dates (April and October 1987, April 1988)
were used. The additional information of stand conditions and tree age,
derived from digitized soil maps and forest management plans, was integrated
using a geographical information system (GIS). For verification the results
of the classification were compared with the damage inventory of the Bavarian
Forest Experiment and Research Station, based on a colorinfrared
photo-interpretation of the same area.
The text of this presentation
CLASSIFICATION OF FOREST DAMAGES IN THE HARZ MOUNTAINS BY MEANS OF
REMOTE SENSING METHODS AND GIS TECHNIQUES
M. Schardt, H. Kenneweg and H. Sagischewski
Technical University of Berlin
ABSTRACT
The test site Harz is located between Hannover and Leipzig. Pure stands of
Norway Spruce (Picea abies) are the most frequent type of silviculture in the
former mining area of the higher Harz regions. Today these stands show a
variety of forest decline caused by the so called "Neuartigen Waldschaden"
ranking from almost no injuries in the lower regions to most severe damages
like deforestation symptoms in the higher regions. The strongly affected
stands are additionally damaged by storm and beetle calamities (Ips
typographus). In some areas of the montane and submontane zone of the Harz
forest damage even leads to total deforestation of extensive areas.
In the current project the applicability of Thematic Mapper data and
existing classification methods for forest damage classification is under
investigation. In contrast to sampling methods satellite data allow a
complete pixel-by-pixel covering assessment on the state of the vegetation.
For the applicability of these methods it is necessary to define damage
classes which correspond both to the requirements of satellite remote sensing
and existing field methods of forest damage estimation. From the results of
the signature analysis and of former classification results it could be
deduced that a distinctive as well as an extensive mapping of forest damage
requires the integration of auxiliary information, and for this purpose a GIS
is applied including a digital terrain model, forest planning data and soil
maps.
Another focal point of this investigation is the documentation of forest
conditions and change detection ("monitoring"). This aspect is of growing
importance in the field of satellite remote sensing. Basic requirement of
these goals are absolutely precise methods for geometrical and radiometrical
correction of satellite data. The investigation is based on Thematic Mapper-
and MSS-data from 1984 to 1991.
For seriously damaged regions an aerial photo interpretation will be
performed in order to compare these results with those derived from
classification of Thematic Mapper data.
The text of this presentation
AIRBORNE VIDEOGRAPHY FOR FOREST RESOURCES DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
OF HURRICANE ANDREW IN SOUTHERN LOUISIANA
Dennis M. Jacobs and Susan Eggen-McIntosh
USDA Forest Service
Southern Forest Experiment Station
Forest Inventory and Analysis
P.O. Box 906
Starkville, MS 39759
ABSTRACT
As Hurricane Andrew made landfall across Southern Florida, forest resource
damage assessment plans were being developed for its imminent landfall on the
Gulf Coast. It was predicted that the hurricane would hit land in Mississippi
or Louisiana, in the region served by the Southern Forest Experiment Station's
Forest Inventory and Analysis unit. Baton Rouge was chosen as headquarters
and flexible plans were developed for an airborne videography flight over any
portion of Southern Louisiana. The Atchafalaya Basin was selected as plan
area number one and flight maps plotted accordingly.
After landfall, the flight maps were adjusted according to aerial
reconnaissance reports. Flight lines were set at ten mile intervals
perpendicular to the path of the storm. An airborne videography system was
used to collect aerial video imagery of the hurricane damaged area with a
swath width of approximately 250 feet. The flight altiude above ground level
was 2000 feet and a 55 mm lens was placed on the video camera. With a 4:3
aspect ratio, each video frame represented about one acre as a captured scene.
Individual scenes were sampled at 1/2-mile intervals along the flight path and
identified within broad percentile volume damage categories. Video plots
interpreted for these categories were grouped into similar damage zones for
interpolation between video flight lines. These damage polygons were used to
retrieve forest plot information from the Southern Forest Experiment Station
Forest Inventory and Analysis relational database to extimate volume of
damaged timber.
The text of this presentation
IDENTIFICATION OF TIROS-N AVHRR HOT SPOTS AS FOREST FIRES
USEING FOREST DISTRIBUTION DATA BASES
Zhou Ruliang, Li Zhixi and Yue Cairong
Laboratory of Remote Sensing
Southwest Forestry University
White Dragon Temple
Kunming 650224, P.R.C.
ABSTRACT
TIROS-N AVHRR data was used to detect forest fires in Yunnan Province
China. An important problem that we faced was that forest fires could not be
identified only through the high temperature source pixels in AVHRR images.
In order to resolve this problem, we studied the potential methods and
proposed to set up forest distribution data bases. Considering the feature of
high mountains and deep valleys, limited investment and time consuming, and
forest areas mixed with agricultural areas, we experimented to establish
forest distribution information data bases by means of Landsat-TM data so
that TIROS-N AVHRR high temperature source pixels were identified as forest
fire pixels or non-forest pixels in the data bases.
GIS AND INVENTORY TECHNOLOGIES PAY OFF IN HURRICANE HUGO RECOVERY
Richard F. Daniels
Westvaco Corporation, Timberlands Division
P.O. Box 1950
Summerville, SC 29484
ABSTRACT
Hurricane Hugo downed timber valued at more than $1 billion and left its
mark on 4.4 million acres in South Carolina. Westvaco Corporation was among
the hardest hit with over 175,000 of a 500,000 acre land base affected.
Technology in use before Hurricane Hugo proved to be invaluable in responding
to the intense demands for information after the storm.
A new land classification system had recently been completed and was
available for the hardest hit areas. The soils data were combined with stand
attributes and inventory data. This system provided consistent predictions
for damage class and operability of the storm-saturated soils. Recent NAPP
aerial photography was available and post-storm coverage was ordered to
provide before and after photos, pinpointing the highest priorities for
salvage and providing base maps for damage assessment.
These sources of information were integrated using FRIS (Forest Resource
Information System), a modern GIS and computerized forest inventory system.
PCResQ, a PC-based geographic query system, provided maps to foresters and
managers directing the recovery efforts. These tools enabled Westvaco to most
effectively deploy specialized logging systems, such as helicopters and high
floatation ground equipment, to salvage over 50% of the volume damaged on
company land.
Besides the physical losses, Hugo rendered 200,000 acres worth of inventory
data worthless for future uses. Damaged stands which were not salvaged had to
be reinventoried, a process still ongoing. Access to published literature on
hurricane salvage and recovery was also valuable.
The lack of information on recovery of damaged stands made decisions in
young stands difficult. An extensive hurricane damage recovery study was
established that makes use of many permanent research plots damaged in the
storm.
HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE DATA
TO ASSESS STORM DAMAGE AREAS IN THE NORTHERN BLACK FOREST
by
Steffen Kuntz
Abteilung fur Luftbildmessung und Fernerkundung (1)
and
Christoph Kleinn
Abteilung fur Forstliche Biometrie (1)
ABSTRACT
Early in 1990 some heavy storms caused the biggest storm damage to forests
in Middle Europe ever known. In the western states of Germany about 72
million cubic meters of wood were thrown to the ground, which is twice the
amount of the regular yearly cutting. The damages showed a scattered pattern,
some areas were very heavily affected with damages on big areas others less.
For several reasons (for forestry planning, for the wood industry and wood
market strategy) an assessment and estimation of the total area affected is
required.
In the Section of Remote Sensing (Abteilung fur Luftbildmessung und
Fernerkundung) of the Forestry Faculty of the University of Freiburg, Germany,
the use of high resolution satellite imagery was investigated to obtain an
overview over the extension of the storm damages. Sample site was an area
corresponding to a topographical map 1:50,000 (area 544 sq. km.) in the
northern part of the Black Forest.
Affected areas were visually identified after some preprocessing procedures
of the satellite data. The study showed that it is possible to produce maps
showing the affected areas within about 4 weeks from the date of acquistion of
the satellite imagery, but it also showed several limitations of the
procedure. For verification orthophotos of the same region were available.
About 63% of the stand was correctly classified by the satellite data
interpretation (84% of the area), 18% of damaged areas were not identified and
about 19% were incorrectly classified as damaged. The misclassification is to
a high extent due to the scattered pattern of the damage with many small
forest patches, that cannot be identified with the resolution of Landsat TM.
Only areas bigger than 1 hectare can be identified with certainty with a pixel
size of 30m by 30m.
Additionally some considerations are presented - using the map produced
from the above mentioned orthophotos - in the context of the assessment of
variables that are rare and show a scattered pattern by means of rastered
observations.
(1) Universitat Freiburg, D-7800 Freburg i.Br., Germany.
Text for this presentation
SPOT SATELLITE IMAGERY: A RESOURCE FOR RAPID DISASTER ASSESSMENT
William Novajosky
SPOT Image Corporation
Reston, VA
ABSTRACT
The capability for rapid acquisition of SPOT satellite imagery both pre-
and post-disaster is evaluated. Spatial prediction of events is provided to
initiate geocoding and orthocorrection of archived imagery for use as a change
detection baseline. Post-catastrophe weather information optimizes satellite
off-nadir imagery acquisition attempts. Accelerated production processes at
SPOT provide a geocoded, orthocorrected post-disaster image via rapid delivery
or telecommunications. (Examples discussed).
Text associated with this presentation