Detecting Change in Vegetation Condition using High Resolution Digital Multispectral Imagery

Remote sensing of vegetation condition using high resolution digital multispectral imagery (DMSI) is an option for land managers interested in quantifying the distribution and extent of dieback in native forest. Crown condition is assessed as reference to the physical structure and foliage (i.e. density, transparency, extent and in-crown distribution) of a tree crown. At 20 sites in the Yalgorup National Park, Western Australia, a total of 80 (Eucalyptus gomphecephala) crowns are assessed both in-situ and using 2 acquisitions (2008 and 2010) of airborne DMSI. Each tree was assessed using four crown-condition indices: Crown Density, Foliage transparency, and the Crown Dieback Ratio and Epicormic Index. DMSI data is trained against canopy condition assessment data from 2008, crown condition is predicted using only spectral data. Comparison of DMSI derived Normalized Diプerence Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) and a novel Red Edge Extrema Index (REEI) suggests the REEI is more suited to classification applications of this type.