Objective 3: Develop Targeted Imagery Product Solutions for Field Forestry Applications

Field forestry professionals have a continuing need for spatial data products to assist them in tactical planning and operational implementation of their numerous assessment and monitoring tasks. Today that need is most commonly met with hard copy aerial photography or maps. It is the exception when a forester does not carry such a product into the woods to navigate, identify stand boundaries, map a damage event, plan an access road, etc. However, aerial photography and maps have the shortcomings of being commonly out of date and inconvenient to integrate into automated data capture and GIS technologies whose use has become widespread. Previous applications of satellite imagery have often failed because they have concentrated on what satellite data can provide, rather than what resource managers and scientists need. We will identify the needs of managers for specific applications, and provide satellite-based imagery and analysis tools that meets these needs.

Digital satellite imagery has the potential to substitute for selected applications of spatial data products, such as aerial photos, in field forestry. To realize that potential, research and development are required. Satellite imagery has found limited use for the indicated field forestry applications for at least two reasons. First, the multitude of imagery types and band display possibilities often overwhelm users and little research has been done to discover optimal imagery and band combinations for specific, on-the-ground, visual interpretation applications. Second, while the temporal frequency of many satellite data products is ideal for operational field applications, the roadblocks of getting products from a data center into the field forester's hands have been monumental.

Link to Objective 3 Results