ESTIMATING CROWN PARAMETERS FROM SPACEBORNE HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGERY

Crown parameters are important roles in tree species identification, because the canopy is the aggregate of all the crowns. However, crown measurements with spaceborne image data have remained more difficult than on aerial photographs since trees show more structural detail at higher resolutions. This recognized problem led to the initiation of the research to determine if high resolution satellite image data could be used to identify and classify single tree species. In this paper, shape parameters derived from pixel-based crown area measurements and texture features derived from GLCM parameters in QuickBird image were tested and compared for individual tree species identification. As expected, initial studies have shown that the crown parameters and the canopy texture parameters provided a differentiating method between coniferous trees and broad-leaved trees within the compartment(less than forest stand) for single extraction from spaceborne high resolution image.