Multiresource analysis and information system concepts for incorporating LANDSAT and GIS technology into large area forest surveys

A method of relating different classifications at each stage of a multistage, multiresource inventory using remotely sensed imagery is discussed. A class transformation matrix allowing the conversion of a set of proportions at one stage, to a set of proportions at the subsequent stage through use of a linear model, is described. The technique was tested by applying it to Kershaw County, South Carolina. Unsupervised LANDSAT spectral classifications were correlated with interpretations of land use aerial photography, the correlations employed to estimate land use classifications using the linear model, and the land use proportions used to stratify current annual increment (CAI) field plot data to obtain a total CAI for the county. The estimate differed by 1% from the published figure for land use. Potential sediment loss and a variety of land use classifications were also obtained.