An Evaluation of a Two-metre Resolution Black and White Satellite Image for Woodland Remote Sensing Applications

SYNOPSIS An evaluation of a two-metre ground resolution Sputnik satellite image was made for use in woodland management. The Sputnik image was provided as a georeferenced hardcopy image at a scale of 1: 20 000, and covered a woodland project area located inside the Makuya National Park, Northern Province. The evaluation found that the Sputnik image provided insufficient detail for detailed woodland mapping. This was due to reduced ground resolution and poor contrast found in the image. A comparison of 1:50 000 scale black and white aerial photographs showed these to be more suited for detailed woodland mapping in the project area. However, the Sputnik image offered imagery at an ideal scale for field work and was a valuable asset in project orientation/navigation. This was because of the image's capability to provide a single-look of the whole of the study area within the single image.