Abstract for presentation at The 13th Australasian Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Conference

The Injune Landscape Collaborative Project was established in 2000 with the objective of investigating the retrieval of forest structural attributes, biomass and floristics from airborne/spaceborne sensors data operating in different modes and spatial and spectral resolutions. The primary motivation was to support State and Federal agendas relating to greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity conservation and forest assessment/management.
For a 220,000 hectare (ha) area of forest near Injune, central Queensland, a grid consisting of 150 500 x 150 m (7.5 ha) Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) was established. For each PSU, large (1:4000) aerial photography, Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) and Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data were acquired in July and August, 2000. The entire area was then overflown by NASA AIRSAR data and selected PSU columns were imaged by the HyMap in September, 2000. Spaceborne data (Landsat, ASTER and Hyperion) were acquired over the same period or in subsequent months whilst other data (Landsat, JERS-1 SAR) were obtained from existing archives. During the periods of the aircraft flights, forest inventory data were also collected.
This presentation reflects on the appropriateness of the sampling strategy adopted at Injune. Specifically, API allowed an assessment of forest species composition whilst the LiDAR analysis facilitated retrieval of tree and stand-based height, cover and biomass. Comparisons with regional datasets generated through the National Forest Inventory (NFI), National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) and Queensland Herbarium suggested that sampling using LSP and LiDAR and aggregated to the landscape provided similar estimates at the broad level and access to a more detailed and permanent record of forest attributes. The presentation discusses whether such a strategy would be appropriate for wider areas (as a supplement to wall-to-wall mapping) and evaluates its relevance to national monitoring initiatives such as the Continental Forest Monitoring Framework.