Forest Co-op Imagery Project
Recent advances in remote sensing technology allow the precise mapping of individual tree crowns, which allows the accurate determination of stocking levels. The Forest Co-op Imagery Project is looking at the use of high resolution remotely sensed data to inventory stands and predict stand development. This 2-year project, with a budget of approximately $347,000, is testing the utility of using Large Scale Photography (LSP) with high resolution imagery & ITC (individual tree crown) techniques to determine future yields based on values derived from the analysis of managed forest stands and density management diagrams.
To-date, the project team has completed the following tasks:
Task 1
Digital Imagery Capture & Ortho to Legacy DEM: In July 2006, 400km2 of 40-60 cm 5 band (pan, R, G, B, nIR) remote digital imagery over the Pilot 2004 area was captured using ADS50 aerial.
Task 2
Digital Imagery Mosaics in Pan, Color & False Color: Following the image capture, the next step was the Ortho-rectification of 400km2 Imagery to +/- 3 metres vertical accuracy to the digital DEM supplied by Bowater. The images were provided to the project lead in Geotiff format. The imagery was also processed and converted to allow viewing in stereo.
Task 3
Eco-region Tree Crown DBH/BA Regression: R&B Cormier field crews collected data to help develop local BA-Crown Area-DBH regression on small trees <5m tall on 5 species (Pj, Sp all, Bf, Po, Bw). The R&B Cormier field crews were assisted by staff from Bowater in plot location and data collection. The analysis of the data has started and the regression equations should be developed before the end of 2007.
Task 4
Delineate ITCs & TTs as Bitmaps: A proprietary object based individual tree crown (ITC) process is being applied to the panchromatic imagery to identify all mature and immature trees not located within cloud shadows or non forested areas using a supervised imagery classification system.
Technology Transfer:
A workshop was held in Thunder Bay in October 2006 to present the results of the image capture and image processing to Bowater's operations staff, other industry partners and other organizations partnering in this project.