Resolving shadows in high resolution satellite images for estimating carbon uptake in urban-suburban areas

Vegetation is a basic component of urban-suburban landscapes, and turfgrass is a major vegetation type in U.S. cities. QuickBird images were acquired to map the spatial distribution of turfgrass, monitor vegetative conditions, and estimate carbon uptake. Shadows in the images were detected and removed by taking advantage of the high radiometric resolution of the QuickBird data. The results indicated that turfgrass accounted for significant proportions of land cover in the study area. Lawn grass generally has lower productivity and greater spatial variability than those of golf grass, but contributes more to carbon uptake because of the larger area coverage.