TROPICAL FOREST TYPE MAPPING AND MONITORING USING REMOTE-SENSING

The Andaman Nicobar group of islands in the Andaman Sea are blessed with luxuriant tropical vegetation. During recent years, vegetation in these islands has been under tremendous pressure due to increased settlement and commercial extraction. Landsat TM data of the Baratang forest division of the Andaman group of islands has been used to prepare forest type maps using visual and digital methods. Digital enhancement techniques have been evaluated to discriminate forest types in a typical environmental set-up. The mapping techniques have been compared with respect to classification and accuracy levels. Finally, the land transformation in the forest division has been studied using past aerial photographs. The study highlights the appropriate methodology required to map forest types.