Open AccessAssessing Urban Forest Canopy Cover Using Airborne or Satellite Imagery
Author(s) -
Jeffrey T. Walton,
David J. Nowak,
Eric J. Greenfield
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
arboriculture and urban forestry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 2155-0778
pISSN - 1935-5297
DOI - 10.48044/jauf.2008.046
Subject(s) - canopy , cover (algebra) , tree canopy , remote sensing , satellite imagery , forest cover , urban forest , land cover , environmental science , geography , forestry , land use , ecology , biology , mechanical engineering , archaeology , engineering
With the availability of many sources of imagery and various digital classification techniques, assessing urban forest canopy cover is readily accessible to most urban forest managers. Understanding the capability and limitations of various types of imagery and classification methods is essential to interpreting canopy cover values. An overview of several remote sensing techniques used to assess urban forest canopy cover is presented. A case study comparing canopy cover percentages for Syracuse, New York, U.S. interprets the multiple values developed using different methods. Most methods produce relatively similar results, but the estimate based on the National Land Cover Database is much lower.