Augmenting the existing survey hierarchy for mountain pine beetle red-attack damage with satellite remotely sensed data1

Abstract

Estimates of the location and extent of the red-attack stage of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) infestations are critical for forest management. The degree of spatial and temporal precision required for these estimates varies according to the management objectives and the nature of the infestation. This paper outlines the range of information requirements associated with mountain pine beetle infestations, from the perspectives of forest inventory, planning, and modeling. Current methods used to detect and map red-attack damage form a hierarchy of increasingly detailed data sources. The capability of satellite-based remotely sensed data to integrate into this hierarchy and provide data that is complementary to existing survey methods is presented, with specific examples using medium (Landsat) and high (IKONOS) spatial resolution imagery. The importance of matching the information requirement to the appropriate data source is emphasized as a means to reduce the overhead associated with data collection and processing.