Transcript RJTurnerinvasivesFinal.ppt

Inventory and Monitoring
Forest Invasive Species with
Airborne Remote Sensing:
Honeysuckle in the Taconics
Katie Joseph and Robert Turner, RJ Turner Company
Vermont Monitoring Cooperative 10.30.06
The Question
• Can invasive plants be detected over a
large scale in forested systems using
remote sensing technology?
The Opportunity
• Vermont TNC was investigating 3,700
acres in core of Equinox Highlands
matrix block
• Matrix block:
large scale, relatively unfragmented
landscape, bounded by fragmenting
features such as roads
The Opportunity
• Timber cruise plus
information on presence of
invasives
• Opportunity to apply new
technology to the problem
– AIMS-1 technology: high
resolution multispectral
airborne imagery with stereo
capability
The Site
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Equinox Highlands
63,000 A landscape
Northern Taconics
Mountainous (3,800 ft)
90% forested
Marbles; carbonates
Mt. Equinox
The Threat
• Bush honeysuckles
• Japanese barberry
• Buckthorn
The Threat
• Timber cruise
data gives us an
indication of
where invasion is
occurring and
what species
pose the greatest
threat
Insert Map
of cruise
points with
colors
indicating
the presence
of
honeysuckle
and barberry
Our Goal: Differentiate invasives
from surrounding, native
vegetation
• The 3 invasives leaf out early, stay late
• Heights are definable, shrub strata
• High probability of invasion near
disturbed and open areas
The Tools
• Low elevation photography
– 75 cm pixel size: full coverage
– 15 cm pixel size: sample coverage
– Multispectral (red, blue, green, and near
infrared)
– Stereo capability for both 15 cm and 75 cm
(3D viewing)
The Process: Data
• April 26, 2006:
– Flight with the AIMS-1
sensor (Mt Holyoke
Geoprocessing Lab)
– Initial Ground Control
Collection with GPS
• Fall 2006:
– Additional Ground
Control Collection
with GPS
Insert Map of
photo centers: 15
cm and 75 cm
(Flight Paths)
The Process: Image Preparation
• Image pre-processing
– Create stereo blocks for stereo
interpretation: 3D viewing
– Create orthophotos (correct for variation in
terrain) and orthomosaic (stitch all of the
orthophotos together to make a single
image)
15 cm resolution
75 cm resolution
The Process: Analysis
• Stereo
interpretation
(3D viewing) used
to differentiate
vegetation types
and strata
– Serves as training
in classification
The Process: Analysis
• Supervised Classification
• Accuracy Assessment: How did we do?
Results so far
• More ground-truthing needed this fall
• Preliminary results—honeysuckle detectable
• Spatial accuracy better than timber cruise, we
can get precise location for single shrubs
• Remaining question whether honeysuckle
signature “clean enough”
Feasibility
• Cost
• Remote sensing expertise & software
needed
• Imagery can be custom flown, easily
arranged
Additional Remote Sensing
Opportunities with AIMS-1
products
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Forest stand typing
Forest inventory
Coarse woody debris inventory
Future flights: Invasive plant monitoring over
time
Additional Remote Sensing
Opportunities with AIMS-1
products
• Current projects associated with
the AIMS-1 Sensor include
– Hemlock Wooly Adelgid monitoring
– Detailed Crown Cover Mapping
– Spatial Database Creation of
Drainage Features
– Habitat Feature Extraction Along the
Lamprey River, Energy Modeling of
Hydrologic Features
Project Credits
• Rose Paul
– The Nature Conservancy
– [email protected]>
• Thomas Millette
– Mt. Holyoke College Geoprocessing Lab
– [email protected]
• Jeremy Turner 603-526-8686
– Meadowsend Timberlands Ltd.