Remote sensing applications for resource management

Excerpt

MANY people familiar with remote sensing do not consider it useful in their work. The technology was oversold in its early stages. People were told they could detect plant diseases and insects, see nutrient deficiencies, determine differences in plant temperatures, and so forth. Many of these claims were not true. Remote sensing is also flashy. Color-infrared images, multicolored classification maps, and similar products make beautiful wall hangings, but managers and administrators look at these displays and question their usefulness.

Most remote sensing specialists are aware that remote sensing, on its own, is not the answer to many resource management problems. Resource managers currently use topographic maps, soil surveys, black and white aerial photographs, land ownership maps, and similar reference information to make decisions. A renewed look at remote sensing focuses on use of remote sensing products in conjunction with standard reference information sources such as these.

What is remote sensing?

Remote sensing is the science and art of acquiring information about material objects from measurements made at a distance and without coming into physical contact with the objects. Recognizably this definition covers photography, scanning images, radar, sonar, and similar data-gathering techniques.

An important aspect of the definition is …