Mapping Forest Hurricane Damage Using Automated Feature Extraction

"In September of 2003 Hurricane Isabel, a category 2 storm, hit Petersburg National Battlefield (PNB). With wind gusts of 90 mph and soaking rains, the remnants of this storm leveled stands of hardwood and coniferous trees in PNB and the surrounding areas. In order to reduce wildfire threats and to focus the timber removal efforts, a map of the downed woody debris was required. This map and subsequent removal plan was especially necessary at PNB because the park is located in a heavily populated wildland urban interface and is visited by thousands of visitors each year. Using digital aerial photography flown in March of 2004, affected forest stands were mapped with VLS’s Feature Analyst, an object oriented classifier. This study demonstrates that object oriented classification procedures that can be used to produce timely and accurate maps of downed trees and related damage to assist with wildfire planning and management. [Abstract]

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