Remote Sensing

Abstract

The main emphasis of this book has been on the direct measurement of trees by people working on the ground, often using relatively unsophisticated equipment. However, there has been an increasing trend to exploit the more sophisticated devices now available, such as satellites, to measure trees and forests remotely. This means there is no need for people to handle the measuring equipment or, perhaps, to even visit the forest site where measurements are to be made.

Use of these devices has been limited in the past, perhaps because they could not measure fully the sizes of individual trees. But so rapid has been technological development that this limitation is now starting to be overcome. Over the next few decades it is conceivable that much of the relatively labour intensive measurement of individual trees on the ground will be superseded by the use of sophisticated electronic equipment, which measures trees remotely.