Applications Of Visual Image Interpretation In

Forestry

Divine Pereira
TYBsc(Geo)
Roll No:106
UID:132449

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Contents
Introduction

Acquisition of Imagery, Interpretstion and Image Processing in Forestry 4

Applications:

1)Forest Classification

2) Forest Structure Estimation

3)Forest Change Detection

Conclusion

11

References

12

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Introduction
Visual Image Interpretation has a vast use in management of forests. The complexity of forest
management has increased over the years due to the rapid development that is happening
around us. Hence remote sensing methods are necessary for forest conservation and other
ecological issues. A combination of remote sensing, observations on field and collaboration
of human beings can help in answering questions on a regional as well as a global scale. The
acquisition of imagery includes various methods like the use of GIS, GPS, field observations
and remote sensing. The acquired data is then processed and calibrated for any errors that are
present. The system used for processing should be fully functional for the processing of
remotely sensed images. The process includes calibration, classification etc. A lot of research
in forestry has been possible due to remote sensing. This includes forest modelling, forest
classification, forest structure estimation, forest change detection etc. All these methods
combined together help us in mapping and conservation of forests.

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Acquisition of Imagery, Interpretation and Image Processing in Forestry

The first and foremost requirement for interpretation and/or mapping of forests, is the
imagery of that particular area. This can be acquired with the help of Field, Aerial and
Satellite imagery. For acquisition of data most of the satellites use the visible/infrared region
of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is because vegetation reflects the most in infrared
followed by the visible region. Other methods used are UV, RADAR, LiDAR etc. they are
used in specialized applications rather than general applications. But sometimes they are
necessary. For example, thermal photos can be used to know the surface temperatures of trees
in a forest which would have not been possible with the help of visible or infrared spectrum.
(Jensen,2000)
For interpretation of visual data the major characteristics used are:
1) Shape- eg: The shape of a pine tree would be different from that of a sugar maple tree
2) Size- eg: The size of a banyan tree would appear large as compared to a deodar tree
3) Pattern- eg: A densely packed forest would show different pattern as compared to a
scarcely populated forest
4) Tone- eg: Evergreen forests would show a different tone as compared to deciduous
forest
5) Texture- eg: Trees that are closely spaced would show a different texture as compared
to trees with more spacing. It refers to the smoothness or coarseness of the photo
6) Shadow- eg: The shadow cast by a redwood tree would be much larger as compared
to a pine tree.
7) Association- eg: Mangroves are always associated with marshy areas. Hence its easy
to identify that particular area. (Lillesand, Kiefer and Chipman, 2004)
The processing of most of the acquired images is done with the help of a GIS. GIS in
forestry tends to be comprised of two major endeavours:
1. Geographic data management, including data collection, database development,
and archiving, and
2. Geographic data analysis, including modeling and information extraction.
(Franklin, 2001)
The use of remote sensing in forestry has numerous applications. Some of them are
discussed further.

Applications
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1)Forest Classification
Forests can be classified with the help of remote sensing on the basis of spectral
response pattern. The many issues and approaches to forest and land classification and
mapping have generated a rich and specialized literature and language; what follows
is an attempt to sort out some of the larger issues, particularly from the perspective of
the producer and user of remote sensing classifications and maps in sustainable
forest management.
Three themes or broad-scale issues affecting the implementation and use of a
regional classification hierarchy to map forest vegetation are used to structure this
discussion (Franklin, 2001):
1. Vegetation mapping requires a conceptual model of vegetation as a geographic
phenomenon (gradients or patches mapped as fields or entities on
the basis of vegetation attributes alone, or vegetation and environmental
attributes).
2. Vegetation mapping is generally carried out within the context of spatial,
temporal, or taxonomic hierarchies.
3. Taxonomic and process hierarchies are not necessarily spatially nested,
e.g., different vegetation formations occur on the same landscape, and
cover types occur discontinuously across different landscape units.
Purpose and Process of Classification
All forest classifications are done for two main purposes
1) To find the attributes of the forest.
2) To find area with proper attributes.
The number of attributes can be infinite, hence we need to find out the attributes that
are of our interest. There are remote sensing forest classification precedents in
virtually all the major biomes of the world. However, some areas are better
understood than others because of extensive prior work or the presence of long-term
research initiatives(Franklin,2001). Eg: The forests of Europe of the Mediterranean
type are of great interest to remote sensing scientists. In recent years Hierarchical
classification has been used by scientists. A good example of a hierarchical vegetative
classification system is the Anderson et al. (1976) Land Use and Land Cover
Classification System comprised of four Levels (I, II, III, IV). The system, designed
for use with remote sensing data, assumes that no one ideal classification of land use
and land cover can be developed, but flexible classes and an open-ended structure can
be used to accommodate many of the different uses that such classification maps are
intended to serve. The system has its origins in the mapping of land associations by
aerial photographs, and is therefore not a pure parametric approach, but is linked to
the landscape approach.

2)Forest Structure Estimation

Crown cover
Forest cover, crown closure and tree density help a lot in the estimation of structure of
a forest. As seen in the diagram below the stand of a tree grows, the shadow cast by it
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on each also deepens. Larger crowns would absorb more light, but reflect more
strongly in the infrared. The strongest correlations are typically found with the
infrared bands because greater atmospheric penetration would create deeper shadows
from larger trees, and because of the large contrast and greater dynamic range.

Figure 1 The geometrical-optical modeling approach considers that spectral response,

in areas where the pixel size is larger than the objects (trees), is a combination of
shaded and components. Here, the influence of the relationships is shown with (a)
randomly located small trees and different sun angles and again with (b) different tree
crown sizes. The amount of shadow and sunlit tree crown and the amount of area
visible between the trees varies with the modeled characteristics. The ideal use of the
GO model would be to construct a lookup table using all possible variations in the
area of interest and then to examine the actual data relative to the modeled data to
determine correspondence. If there were marked differences between the predicted
and actual spectral response, then perhaps the area had been subjected
to an unidentified change. (Franklin, 2001)
Forest Age
With the help of modern remote sensing techniques it is possible to determine the age
of a forest. Many forests are hundreds of years old, though the leaves on them cant
be. Direct correlation of remote sensing and age is not possible. The changes in
physical structure and composition , like the size and density is recorded over time.
And the age can be determined by plotting the graph of age v/s TM.

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Figure 2 Mean spectral response curves suggest that as forests age, spectral response
changes even if pixel sizes are small. Here, as shown in the above figure, for a few
Douglas-fir forest age classes, the differences were large enough that classification of
age can be accomplished with a high degree of accuracy. Age differences were largest
in the younger age classes.
Tree Height
Digital airborne and satellite remote sensing havent been able to achieve success in
finding the accurate height of trees in a forest. Of the available remote sensing
instruments, it appears that lidar measurements of tree height have the greatest
potential. Since the early 1980s, lidars have been used experimentally to improve
estimates of stand forest biomass and volume. Early problems included the fact
that the laser profiler obtained heights from the shoulder of the tree crown, as well
as the peak; comparisons to field measurements showed that the spot lidar would
systematically underestimate tree height. The system worked better in softwood
stands where tree crowns were more distinct. Tree height variability was greater in
the lidar data of hardwood stands when compared with field measurements. A
refinement is to include lidar estimates of canopy density (or porosity); such an
estimate can be produced by considering the number of times the laser pulses directly
to the ground. The lidar-generated tree heights could be used in estimates of biomass
and volume, but tree diameter variation accounted for much of the variation in site-tosite biomass estimates because tree diameter is far and away the most important
component in biomass and volume equations. Combining lidar sensors with a
spatially explict remote sensing device, such as a digital camera or spectrograph, will
provide the ideal solution to the problem of remote height determination. (Franklin,
2001)

Volume and Growth of Trees

Volume prediction using remote sensing is strongly related to biomass prediction
and, in fact, uses the same basic principles. In essence, what is sought is a remote
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sensing relationship with crown size and closure, and the desired volume
estimate. A common approach has been to use the satellite imagery in stratification
prior to volume assessment. Great care must be exercised in collecting field data to
develop spectral models to predict forestry variables; any comparison of one data
source to the other is a potential source of uncertainty. An area that is very
heterogeneous or different from the calibration sites will create a large potential
source of error.
Leaf Area Index
Leaf area index is the area of the leaf per unit ground area. It is dimensionless since
the units for both the areas are the same. LAI can be used potentially to measure the
gas, energy and water exchanges that take place. Hence we can get an idea about the
photosynthesis, transpiration, etc. about the trees. On field LAI can be done with the
help of leaves that have fallen from the tree or by the allometrics of the sap etc.
However there are a few problems associated with Leaf Area Index. Eg: the
vegetation indices and LAI are known to differ among Broad-leaf and needle-leaf
trees. Basically, as more and more leaves are added they are obscured by the first few
layers of leaves; current remote sensing data and methods are very powerful when
estimating the difference between no leaves and one leaf, between one leaf and two,
between two leaves and three, but not much more.

3)Forest Change Detection

As to a result of natural powerful sources a change in forests happen. They may not be
initially but happen after a long time. Many forest are very old and have a long life.
The change in the forest happens at spatial as well as temporal level. Change in forest
cant be predicted. It can be too fast or too slow. Some factors that may cause change
in forests are given below.
Forest Damage and Defoliation

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The damage caused to any forest is either due to growth reduction or tree mortality.
Damage to trees can be caused due to infestation of insects, fungal diseases, or natural
forces like flooding, storms etc. Remote sensing has been very useful in the heath
monitoring of forests. Two major characteristics are used to recognize change in
forests:
1) Markers or indicators like reflectance of leaves etc. and
2) Long term changes in the health of the trees by classification.
No single method is use to sense all types of damage done to forests, butcan be used
in multiple types depending on the requirement. Spectral characteristics of trees are
also used. As the leaves of the plants wither, a change in the spectral reflectance
pattern is observed.

Figure 3 In the above figure, the spectral response curve shows the changes in leaves
of a tree. Whenever there is a decrease in the reflectance of green light, an increase in
the reflectance of red light is seen. The blue shift is recognized as a property of leaves
observed under stress.
Fire Damage
Remote sensing has played a pivotal part in detection of active fires and the damage
done by them. The accuracy and consistency of remote sensing can hardly be matched
by any other platform in terms of observing the fire damage. Fire scars that are left
due to forest fires are mapped to find the amount of carbon content that is dispersed in
the atmosphere. Pre and post-fire image transforms help a lot in the interpretation.

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Figure 4 The above graph shows the spectral response of a burnt forest. An increase
in difference is seen between the severely burnt and the unburnt forest.
Change in Spatial Structure
The change in the spatial structure of forests is mainly due to human intervention.
Also natural calamities play an important role in the change of spatial structure. A
natural calamity like a flood or a landslide can change the heterogeneity by
increasing or decreasing it, depending on the type of natural force.
Habitat Pattern and Biodiversity
Remote sensing can be very useful to determine the habitat pattern due to its high
accuracy maps that can be generated over large wildlife habitats. For classification of
habitats the data is generally not available directly. The problems generally
encountered are:
1)
2)
3)
4)

The difference in land cover classes and interpreted habitat classes

The combined use of imagery and DEMs like land use classification.
The difficulty in field verification of habitats.
The need to ensure consistency in mapping across ever larger management units.

Conclusion
Forest ecosystems must be understood and human impacts quantified and managed
well enough, despite lack of knowledge . Foresters and resource management
professionals increasingly are faced with the need to answer questions about forests
that were not considered part of earlier forest management strategies, and for which
few data or information sources are available. Now, and increasingly in the future,
forest management will be tied to monitoring criteria and indicators to determine
forest ecosystem sustainability and the sustainability of management practices, such
as harvesting, planting, silviculture, and suppression or enhancement of natural
processes

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References

Lillesand, T. M., Kiefer, R.W.,Chipman,J.W. 2004. Remote Sensing and Image

Interpretation. 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Franklin, S. E. 2001. Remote Sensing for Sustainable Forest Management. Lewis
Publishers,Florida
Jensen, J. R. 2000. Remote Sensing of the Environment. An Earth Resource
Perspective.Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Tiwari, K. P. 1975. Tree species identification on large scale aerial photographs at
New Forest.

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