Technical Bulletin No. 0571: Early Detection of Air Pollution Injury to Coniferous Forests Using Remote Sensing

Chronic exposure to air pollution may produce significant changes in forested ecosystems, ranging from needle chlorosis, premature foliar loss and altered canopy geometry, tree mortality, reduced species diversity and altered species proportions. These in turn produce changes in canopy spectral properties which can be detected at a range of spatial scales. The feasibility of various remote sensing techniques was evaluated for early detection and monitoring of forest damage.