Forestry

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Remote Sensing for Forestry

Many governments, state, and private forestry organizations and agencies today utilize geospatial technology such as GIS (geographic information systems) and satellite imagery for various applications supporting analysis, assessment, and management of our forests.

Many applications of forestry and natural resources require accurate land cover and change analysis. Changing conditions due to urban sprawl, as well as increasing forest fragmentation, make a land cover and change detection analysis an extremely important consideration for management, planning, and inventory mapping. This includes ecosystem and species diversity, forest productivity, reforestation, forest health, conservation of soil, water resources, and nutrient cycling.

Pleiades-1A Satellite Sensor (0.5m)

Copyright © AIRBUS Defence & Space. All rights reserved.

Fire and Emergency Mapping

Satellite images and GIS maps support fire and emergency personnel for responding to emergency situations, hazardous fuels reduction, community assistance, firefighting, rehabilitation, and restoration. In order to model a forest fire, the techniques for obtaining, analyzing, and displaying spatial information in a timely and cost-effective manner are needed which has proven not only to be possible, but incredibly efficient and effective.

Short Wave Infra-Red (SWIR)

SWIR satellite imagery enables the ability to see through the dense smoke of wildfires to locate flames and hot spots. The SWIR image is a “false color” composite made from three of the eight SWIR bands (bands 6, 3, and 1) that coincidentally give an orange color to the fire.

WorldView-3 SWIR (3.7m) Satellite Image of Wildfires in California’s Klamath National Forest, USA

Copyright © MAXAR. All rights reserved.

The WorldView-3 SWIR image below is a an example of a heat map using all eight SWIR spectral color bands where the wildfires are most intense at Happy Camp Complex wildfires in 2014, in Klamath National Forest, California.

WorldView-3 SWIR (3.7m) Satellite Image of Wildfires in California’s Klamath National Forest, USA

Copyright © MAXAR. All rights reserved.

WorldView-3 Satellite Map Forest Fires Animation – Canada

Click on the image to view animation

Copyright © MAXAR/processed by Satellite Imaging Corporation. All rights reserved.

WorldView-3 satellite provides 30cm panchromatic resolution, 1.24 m multispectral resolution, 3.7m short wave infrared resolution (SWIR). The satellite is capable of collecting up to 680,000 km2 per day.

Remote Sensing and Artifical Intelligence (AI) for Deforestation

Deforestation has been attributed to socio-demographic factors, such as population growth, and the political economy of class structure, and specific exploitation activities like commercial logging, forest farming, fuel wood gathering, agriculture, and pasture clearance for cattle production.

Utilizing high-resolution multi-spectral satellite imagery in deep learning environments such Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Computer Vision (CV) algorithms, image data is collected and processed, extracting spectral data and transferred into management solutions for deforestation monitoring. AI has been used for climate change to aid in the prediction and monitoring of droughts, greenhouse gases, cloud cover, and weather patterns.

AI and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools can support forest monitoring and management of deforestation activities by utilizing image data collected by satellites, fix wing aircraft, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). This data is collected and processed to provide NDVI and many other vegetation indices to identify land being cleared legally or illegally. The ability of AI and GIS to analyze and visualize environments and workflows has proven to be very beneficial to those involved in the forestry industry. Read more on deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.

Visoke Volcano – Virunga National Parks, Congo (DRC) and Rwanda Deforestation

Copyright © MAXAR/processed by Satellite Imaging Corporation. All rights reserved.

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TESTIMONIALS

Stories & Experiences

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FAQ’S

Frequently Asked Questions

How to find Geographic Coordinates in Google maps?

To find geographic coordinates in Google Maps, you can follow these steps:

  1. Open Google Maps in your web browser or on your mobile device.

  2. Search for the location you want to find the geographic coordinates for by entering the address, landmark, or name of the place in the search bar at the top of the page.

  3. Once the location is displayed on the map, right-click (or long-press on mobile) the exact point on the map where you want to find the coordinates. This will open a small menu.

  4. In the menu that appears, click on “What’s here?” or “What’s here? – Coordinates” option. On mobile devices, you may need to tap on the location marker first to reveal the menu options.

  5. A small information box will appear at the bottom of the screen, displaying the latitude and longitude coordinates of the selected point. The coordinates will be shown in decimal degrees format.

  6. You can click on the coordinates in the information box to expand it and see the coordinates in different formats, such as degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS) or Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) format.

To create a KML (Keyhole Markup Language) file in Google Earth, you can follow these steps:

  1. Download Google Earth Pro and Open on your computer.

  2. Navigate to the location or area you want to create a KML file for by using the search bar, zooming in/out, and panning on the map.

  3. Customize the view and layers in Google Earth Pro to include the specific data or elements you want to include in your KML file. This can include placemarks, paths, polygons, overlays, images, and more.

  4. Once you have set up the desired view and layers, go to the “Add” menu at the top of the screen and select the type of element you want to add (e.g., placemark, path, polygon, image overlay).

  5. Follow the prompts to add the specific element and provide the necessary information, such as location coordinates, name, description, and any additional properties or styling options.

  6. Repeat the previous step if you want to add more elements to your KML file.

  7. After adding all the desired elements, go to the “File” menu and select “Save Place As.”

  8. In the “Save Place As” dialog box, choose a location on your computer where you want to save the KML file.

  9. Specify the name of the KML file, ensuring it has the .kml extension (e.g., myfile.kmL), you may need to select KML as GoogleEarth defaults to KMZ formats.

  10.  Click the “Save” button to save the KMZ file to the specified location on your computer.

Ordering commercial high-resolution and medium-resolution satellite maps process:

  1. Identify your requirements: Determine the specific needs for the satellite maps, including the desired resolution, geographic coverage, acquisition date, and any additional specifications such as spectral bands or cloud cover constraints.

  2. Contact Us: Reach out to us to inquire about our imaging product and services. Provide us with the details of your requirements, including the area of interest, resolution, and any other specifications.

  3. If there is high urgency for imagery, please let us know that this is a time sensitive project. Any project deadlines should be included with your initial contact.

  4. Request a quote: Ask for a formal quote for the satellite maps you need. The quote should include information such as the cost, delivery timeline, licensing terms, and any additional services like data processing or analysis.

  5. Review the quote: Evaluate the quote provided by us and if needed, we can negotiate the terms, pricing, or any specific requirements that may not be fully covered.

  6. Confirm the order: Once you are satisfied with the quote and have reached an agreement, confirm your order. We will guide you through the necessary steps for payment and delivery.

  7. Receive the satellite maps: After the order is confirmed and payment is processed, you will receive the satellite map data in the specified format. This may include downloading the data from a secure portal or receiving physical media, depending on delivery method.

  8. Utilize the satellite maps: With the satellite maps that you receive, you can utilize it for your intended purposes, such as GIS data, 3D terrain maps, disaster, geospatial data, and other applications as needed.

Satellite map raw files refer to the unprocessed and unedited data captured by satellite sensors. These files contain the raw data received by the satellite sensors, including the reflected or emitted electromagnetic radiation from the Earth’s surface.

Satellite map raw files typically come in specialized formats specific to each satellite sensor or provider. These formats may include formats like GeoTIFF (georeferenced Tagged Image File Format) or ENVI (Environment for Visualizing Images). The raw files preserve the original sensor readings, which can include various spectral bands, radiometric information, and geometric parameters.

Raw files require processing to convert them into usable formats, such as georeferenced images or digital elevation model(DEM). Processing steps may involve radiometric and geometric corrections, atmospheric compensation, calibration, orthorectification, and mosaicking, among others.

Once processed, raw files can provide valuable information for various GIS data applications, including 3D terrain maps, agriculture production maps, vegetation maps, and disaster maps.

To download satellite maps from an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server, you can follow these general steps:

  1. Obtain the FTP server information: Get the FTP server details from the satellite maps provider or the source you are accessing. This includes the FTP server address, username, password, and potentially the directory path to the imagery files.

  2. Choose an FTP client: Select an FTP client software or application that allows you to connect to the FTP server and perform file transfers. Some popular options include FileZilla, WinSCP, Cyberduck, or the built-in FTP functionality of certain web browsers.

  3. If you are unable to download an FTP client due to software locks, Windows has a built in FTP Protocol that can be accessed by copying the URL of the FTP server in your Windows File Explorer.

  4. Depending on the method to connect to the FTP, you will need credentials including a Username and Password to access these file.

  5. Most FTP clients will allow you to Copy and Paste or Drag and Drop the files from the client window to your local files.

Remember to comply with any terms and conditions associated with the satellite map data, including usage restrictions, licensing agreements, and any attribution requirements specified by the provider.

For any other questions or for a consultation, please contact us.

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