Mapping of forested wetland: Use of seasat radar images to complement conventional sources

Distinguishing forested wetland from dry forest using aerial photographs has been handicapped because photographs often do not reveal the presence of water below the tree canopies. Images obtained during the summer months of 1978 by the Seasat satellite's L-band (23-cm) radar reveal forested wetland as patterns of high radar reflection in the Atlantic coastal plain between Maryland and Florida. Potential exists for Seasat radar images to complement aerial photographs in the compiling of maps of wetland. A test was conducted with four experienced photointerpreters which revealed that interpretation accuracy was significantly higher when the Seasat radar images were used than when only conventional sources were utilized. The bases of reference, that is, the maps made from conventional sources, were from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) series on Land Use and Land Cover, which shows Forested Wetland among its categories.