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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

REMOTE SENSING SURVEY OF MELALEUCA

Remote sensing was used to attempt to define the areal extent of the introduced tree Melaleuca quinquenervia in selected portions of south Florida. The area occupied by Melaleuca has increased markedly in recent years, in part because of population-induced site modifications including hydroperiod changes resulting from artificial drainage, cutting of the native vegetation, and burning. LANDSAT imagery and computer analysis of the imagery by the General Electric Company's IMAGE-100 machine were used to attempt to determine the extent of Melaleuca over much of Lee County and portions of Collier County in southeastern Florida. It was possible to identify some areas occupied by Melaleuca, but not with adequate precision for purposes of detailed mapping. Efforts using the GE IMAGE-100 Pattern Recognition System were laregly unsuccessful in identifying a unique signature for Melaleuca because the tree is found on a wide variety of sites, it occurs in various degrees of mixture with other species, and in widely varying densities and size classes. Signatures which identified all of the known large, mature stands dominated by Melaleuca also identified portions of other ecosystems which do not contain Melaleuca, particularly cypress and mangrove. Signatures narrow enough to exclude cypress and mangrove failed to identify all of the large, nearly pure Melaleuca stands. Some preliminary testing of the technique was done with other south Florida ecosystems in the hopes of being able to identify those ecosystem types which might be potentially susceptible to Melaleuca invasion. Ecosystems which are structurally simple such as barren areas, improved pastures, and some mangroves were readily identified, whereas those with a more complex structure such as pine forests, cypress swamps, and mixed pine-cypress-hardwood stands proved difficult to identify. /Author/

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  • Corporate Authors:

    American Society of Photogrammetry

    105 North Virginia Avenue
    Falls Church, VA  United States  22046
  • Authors:
    • Capehart, B L
    • Ewel, J J
    • Sedlik, B R
    • Myers, R L
  • Publication Date: 1977-2

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 197-206
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00149819
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Apr 27 1977 12:00AM