STUDYING THE CHRONICLE OF TIMBERLAND USING HISTORICAL ORTHOPHOTO AND SATELLITE DATA

Timber inventory is a good starting point for developing strategies to effectively manage the timberland. In the sale of timberland, pricing is mostly based on this inventory. For a small timberland, inventory by conventional ground survey could be possible. In the case of large and nationwide business transactions, swift and inexpensive inventory is worth to be considered as the conventional methods require more experienced man power, money and time. In the present study, it was aimed to identify the chronicle of timberland such as changes that has occurred owing to silvicultural activities and by other means using the historical aerial photography and satellite data. Historical aerial photos from National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP), National High Altitude Photography (NHAP), Survey Photography and Landsat satellite data were used. Orthophotos were constructed using the DOQQ and DEM from USGS. Simple photo interpretation technique was employed to classify the orthophoto and satellite data. The plantation area was classified into softwood, mixed and hardwood. The timber age and the corresponding acreage details and the changes were also estimated. The result of this study could be more useful to the timberland buyers to better understand the chronicle of timberland of their interest prior to transactions.