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Assessment of pine forest damage by blight based on Landsat TM data and correlation with environmental factors
Author(s) -
Nakane Kaneyuki,
Kimura Yoshinori
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1007/bf02348592
Subject(s) - environmental science , canopy , blight , forest health , air pollution , forestry , vegetation (pathology) , normalized difference vegetation index , remote sensing , geography , ecology , agroforestry , biology , agronomy , leaf area index , medicine , pathology
Landsat TM images were obtained of blight damage to a Japanese red pine forest in the western part of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, using a spectral vegetation index; that is, the ratio of the digital number (relative reflectance on the ground surface) of TM Band 4 to Band 3 observed in May 1987, which decreased with the increase in the canopy cover of damaged pine trees measured in the field. The TM images suggested that the areas of damaged forest were concentrated in or near cities, industrial areas and expressways. The correlation between forest damage and environmental factors (air pollution and urban development) around the pine forest was therefore analysed by overlaying the blight damage with the proportion of developed areas obtained from TM data or mesh data of air pollution. The results of analysis indicated a significant correlation between forest damage and environmental factors, and showed that these two environmental factors made nearly equal contributions to the blight damage in the pine forest. This suggests that urban development and air pollution may affect the physiology of pine trees and promote blight by reducing the resistance of trees to the pinewood nematode.