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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Boise, Idaho » Northwest Watershed Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #105006
Title: INTERMOUNTAIN PLANT COMMUNITY CLASSIFICATION USING LANDSAT TM AND SPOT HRV DATA

Author
item Clark, Pat
item Seyfried, Mark
item HARRIS, BOB - UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO

Submitted to: Journal of Range Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/28/2000
Publication Date: 5/20/2001
Citation: Clark, Patrick, Seyfried, Mark S., Harris, Bob, Intermountain Plant Community Mapping Using LANDSAT and SPOT, Journal of Range Management, pp 152-160, v. 54, 2001.

Interpretive Summary: Rangeland plant communities of the Intermountain region differ in their ecology and management requirements. Accurate maps delineating the distribution of these plant communities are required for successful management. Presently, natural resource managers lack a practical and efficient means of creating plant community maps for the extensive land management units common to the Intermountain region. The objective was to evaluate satellite imaging system and image acquisition date effects on the accuracy of plant community maps generated from satellite imagery. Maps delineating Intermountain plant communities were created from Landsat 5 TM and SPOT 3 HRV multispectral imagery using a maximum likelihood classification procedure. Map accuracy was assessed using ground reference points. Landsat TM and SPOT HRV data produced plant community maps with similarly high accuracy. Imagery acquired during plant dry-down (early August) produced more accurate plant community maps than imagery acquired during peak plant growth (early June). Natural resource managers now have a validated set of satellite-based mapping procedures which can be used to improve management of the extensive land areas common to the Intermountain region.

Technical Abstract: Rangeland plant communities of the Intermountain region differ in their ecology and management requirements. Accurate maps delineating the distribution of these plant communities are required for successful management. Presently, natural resource managers lack a practical and efficient means of creating plant community maps for the extensive land management units common to the Intermountain region. The objective was to evaluate satellite imaging system and image acquisition date effects on the accuracy of plant community maps generated from satellite imagery. Maps delineating Intermountain plant communities were created from Landsat 5 TM and SPOT 3 HRV multispectral imagery using a maximum likelihood classification procedure. Map accuracy was assessed using ground reference points. Landsat TM and SPOT HRV data produced plant community maps with similarly high accuracy. Imagery acquired during plant dry-down (early August) produced more accurate plant community maps than imagery acquired during peak plant growth (early June). Natural resource managers now have a validated set of satellite-based mapping procedures which can be used to improve management of the extensive land areas common to the Intermountain region.