Remote sensing of the distribution and abundance of host species for spruce budworm in Northern Minnesota and Ontario

Peter T. Wolter; Philip A. Townsend; Brian R. R. Sturtevant; Clayton C. Kingdon

Treesearch

Remote sensing of the distribution and abundance of host species for spruce budworm in Northern Minnesota and Ontario

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Peter T. Wolter, Philip A. Townsend, Brian R. R. Sturtevant, Clayton C. Kingdon

Year:

2008

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Northern Research Station

Source:

Remote Sensing of Environment. 112: 3971-3982.

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Abstract

Insects and disease affect large areas of forest in the U.S. and Canada. Understanding ecosystem impacts of such disturbances requires knowledge of host species distribution patterns on the landscape. In this study, we mapped the distribution and abundance of host species for the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) to facilitate landscape scale planning and modeling of outbreak dynamics. We used multitemporal, multi-seasonal Landsat data and 128 ground truth plots (and 120 additional validation plots) to map basal area (BA), for 6.4 million hectares of forest in northern Minnesota and neighboring Ontario. Partial least-squares (PLS) regression was used to determine relationships between ground data and Landsat sensor data.

Keywords

Landsat, multi-temporal, partial least squares regression, forest structure, spruce budworm, Minnesota, Ontario

Citation

Wolter, Peter T.; Townsend, Philip A.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Kingdon, Clayton C. 2008. Remote sensing of the distribution and abundance of host species for spruce budworm in Northern Minnesota and Ontario. Remote Sensing of Environment. 112: 3971-3982.