Pacific Southwest

Title: Evaluation of Skylab (EREP) data for forest and rangeland surveys

Author: Aldrich, Robert C., technical coordinator

Date: 1976

Source: Res. Paper PSW-RP-113. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 74 p

Station ID: RP-PSW-113

Description: Data products from the Skylab Earth Resources Experiment Package were examined monocularly or stereoscopically using a variety of magnifying interpretation devices. Land use, forest types, physiographic sites, and plant communities, as well as forest stress, were interpreted and mapped at sites in Georgia, South Dakota, and Colorado. Microdensitometric techniques and computer-assisted data analysis and sampling procedures were developed and tested against ground truth. Results indicate that only Skylab S190B color photographs are good for classification of forest and nonforest land (90 to 95 percent correct). Both visual and microdensitometer techniques can separate range plant communities at the Region level (ECOCLASS system) with over 90 percent accuracy. Only mountain pine beetle infestations more than 26 m (85 ft) long could be detected. In a study near Redding, California, radiance from Skylab S190B and LANDSAT sensors was found linearly correlated with terrain reflectance.

Keywords: Skylab; Earth Resources Experiment Package; photointerpretation; microdensitometric analysis; remote sensors; forest classification; range inventory; plant communities; forest stress

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Citation

Aldrich, Robert C., technical coordinator  1976.  Evaluation of Skylab (EREP) data for forest and rangeland surveys.   Res. Paper PSW-RP-113. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 74 p.