HR: 13:55h
AN: B23F-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Monitoring National Forests in Eastern U.S. Using Landsat Observations
AU: * Huang, C
EM: cqhuang@umd.edu
AF: Department of Geography, University of Maryland, 2181 LeFrak Hall, College Park, MD 20742, United States
AU: Goward, S N
EM: sgoward@umd.edu
AF: Department of Geography, University of Maryland, 2181 LeFrak Hall, College Park, MD 20742, United States
AU: Zhu, Z
EM: zhu@usgs.gov
AF: National Center for EROS, U.S. Geological Survey, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, United States
AU: Masek, J G
EM: Jeffrey.G.Masek@nasa.gov
AF: Code 614.4 - Biospheric Sciences, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Thomas, N
EM: nthomas@umd.edu
AF: Department of Geography, University of Maryland, 2181 LeFrak Hall, College Park, MD 20742, United States
AU: Schleeweis, K
EM: ska1@umd.edu
AF: Department of Geography, University of Maryland, 2181 LeFrak Hall, College Park, MD 20742, United States
AB: National Forests (NFs) are protected forests and woodland areas, comprising about 8.5 percent of the total land area of the United States. This study examines forest land dynamics within and around NFs using historical Landsat data. Selected NFs are distributed across eastern U.S., including the De Soto NF in Mississippi, the Francis Marion NF in South Carolina, the Cherokee NF and Pisgah NF in North Carolina, the Allegheny NF in Pennsylvania, the Hiawatha NF in Michigan, and the Superior NF in Minnesota. For each NF, a Landsat time series stack (LTSS) consisting of 1 image every year or every two years from 1984 to 2005 has been assembled. The LTSS are being analyzed using a highly automated multi-temporal change analysis algorithm. The algorithm extracts the two decadal forest disturbance history and tracks the recovery process that may follow from disturbance. Comprehensive validation of the derived disturbance and recovery products is being conducted. The validated products will be used to compare spatial and temporal patterns of forest dynamics among the selected NFs and to evaluate whether variations in such patterns can be linked to management policies. We will also evaluate the observed forest changes within the NFs compared with those occurred in the surrounding areas to further assess the impact of management practices on NFs. Results from this study will not only provide insights into the dynamics of NFs in eastern U.S. over the last two decades, but will also offer a new approach for monitoring the NFs using the spatially and temporally comprehensive Landsat record or similar remote sensing data archives.
DE: 0480 Remote sensing
DE: 1855 Remote sensing (1640)
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting