Aerial, GIS, and field data calibration of a Landsat ETM+ mountain pine beetle detection procedure in British Columbia, Canada

The identification and classification of mountain pine beetle, Dentroctonus ponderosa (Hopkins), red-attack damage patterns in a mature lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forest located in the Fort St. James Forest District, British Columbia, was accomplished using 1999 Landsat ETM+ satellite imagery, a 1999 mountain pine beetle field and aerial survey point dataset, and GIS forest inventory data. A maximum likelihood classification based on training areas developed from stratified field and aerial survey points was 73% correct. The red-attack damage class showed forest stands with a high likelihood of containing small groups of red-attacked trees.