Tropical deforestation and species endangerment - The role of remote sensing

Initial results of a pilot study to link remotely sensed information on tropical forest loss to field-based information on species endangerment are presented. LANDSAT MSS imagery was used to estimate net forest removal, regrowth, and forest edges in Mabira Forest in Uganda during 15-year period. Although four distinct types of closed tropical forest based on structure of dominance could be recognized on the ground, the types could not be distinguished according to differences in spectral reflectance in the MSS bands; yet the closed tropical forest could be readily distinguished from nonforest vegetation types. It is concluded that the utilization of MSS for this purpose is likely to be most successful when combined with larger-scale resolution imagery, such as TM, SPOT, and aerial photography, as well as existing vegetation maps. Of significant promise, however, is the ability to differentiate disturbance regimes, regrowth, and exterior and interior edges of tropical closed forest by the combined use of MSS imagery and ground data.