Remote Sensing Related Web Sites

New in this Update

Web sites related to South East Asian Forest Fire 1997

• Haze - "The "Haze" is no more seen over most of S.E.Asia with the arrival of the monsoon. This site had been set up as a result of the recent haze in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the surrounding region as a result of forest fires from Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia. It will be updated, from time to time and retained as a reminder to us, as to what can go wrong if we are not careful. ... "
• South East Rainforest Fire Crisis, WWF - "In an environmental disaster of epic proportions, the Indonesian rainforest is burning out of control. Read below for the latest WWF news relating to this disaster, choose from the bottom menu for regional and general information, or select from the menu at right for breaking news and web resources on the Indonesian rainforest crisis."

• Satellite Images

  • Fires and Smoke Haze on South-East Asia 1997 (ATSR images from ERS2)
  • SPOT Satellite Images of Forest/Plantation Fires and Smoke Haze over Southeast Asia (at CRISP, Singapore)
  • Global Fire Atlas at ESRIN/ESA

Directories

• Virtual Library: Forestry
• Virtual Library: Ecology, Biodiversity and the Environment
• Virtual Library: Environment: Biosphere
• Science:Agriculture:Forestry - Environmental Organization WebDirectory
• Web Directory: Parks and Recreation: US National Parks Forests and Monuments
• Australian Rain Forest Homepage
• Forestry Related Organizations at Society of American Foresters.

Mailing Lists

• FOREST Mailing List Archive - hosted at Finnish Forest Research Institute.

Tutorials/FAQs/Presentations

• Identification of rice cropping systems in Mekong River Delta using multitemporal ERS SAR images - ERS Symposium 97.
• Terrill Ray's Vegetation FAQ: A FAQ on Vegetation in Remote Sensing. Alternate sites : - webthing - this site (html version)
• Rangeland applications by Paul Tueller - A module in RSCC.
• Remote Sensing: Satallite View Shows Crop "Signatures" By: Donald C. Rundquist. - An introduction to vegetation mapping techniques using Landsat images.
• Mapping Current Land Cover In Virginia - A slide presentation by Dave D. Morton of College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, Virginia Tech University.
• World Wide Web Presentation on: Remote Sensing of Forest Vegetation - Batemans Bay by CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, Australia.
• Satellite Inventory of Minnesota Forest Resources - by Marvin E. Bauer et al., Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota and Division of Forestry, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
• Remote Sensing Workstation for Forest Fire Detection and Monitoring - VTT Automation Remote Sensing Group, Technical Research Centre of Finland
• Remote Sensing and Agriculture

Remote Sensing Missions/Projects

• VEGETATION Programme on SPOT 4 - CNES site
• MODIS Land Group
• TREES - TRopical Ecosystem Environment observation by Satellite. A joint programme of the ESA and the JRC "oriented towards the study of tropical forest dynamics at regional to global scales using remote sensing techniques". Also at this site.
• FIRE - FIre in global Resources and Environmental monitoring. Research in biomass burning at regional, continental and global scales in relation to atmospheric chemistry, climate change and environmental management.
• TEAM - Terrestrial Environment and Atmosphere Modeling. Research on the interactions between terrestrial surfaces and the atmosphere, based on remote sensing data.
• MERCATOR - Monitoring Environment with Remote sensing and Cartography over African TrOpical Regions.
• Global Rainforest Mapping Project (GRFM) - to acquire contiguous SAR data sets of the major rain forest areas on the Earth by the L-band SAR on JERS-1. Rainforest area mapped included the whole Amazon Basin (Sep-Dec 1995, May-Jul 1996), central and west Africa (Jan/Mar 1996), Congo River Basin (Oct/Nov 1996), SE Asia and Northern Australia (late 1996 and early 1997). The output of this project will be, among others, SAR mosaics at 100 meter and 500 meter resolutions, coarse classifications over selected regions. Quick-look images will also be made available on the Internet.
• International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP): A Study of Global Change. An interdisciplinary scientific activity established and sponsored by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). The Programme was instituted by ICSU in 1986, and the IGBP Secretariat was established at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1987.
• Global Land Cover Test Sites (GLCTS) project - A multitemporal dataset (under development) of satellite imagery for a globally distributed set of selected test sites which will represent a wide range of land cover types and will be well characterized on the ground. This dataset will provide a resource for research on land cover characterization and the testing of algorithms for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS).
• AFRICOVER Project - to establish, by and for the whole of Africa, a digital geo-referenced database on land cover and a geographic referential (geodesy, toponymy, roads, hydrography) at a 1:250,000/1:200,000 scale (1:100,000 for small countries). This base will also be generalised at a 1:1,000,000 scale, updated, and made homogeneous and comparable from thematic and geographic points of view on the whole African continent.
• Agrometeorological Crop Forecasting, FAO
• The Role of Remote Sensing in FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment and Monitoring Programme
• Satellite assessment for rice in Indonesia (SARI) - Phase I Demonstration Case Study

Resources

International

• United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
  • Forestry
  • Agriculture
  • FAOSTAT - Online Searchable database containing over 1 million time-series records covering international statistics in Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery, Trade, Population, etc.
• FAO Landuse Database - Searchable database on landuse for all countires since 1961. Part of FAOSTAT.
• SD Dimensions - Information service of the FAO Sustainable Development Department. Some of the RS/GIS related resources:
  • FAO Land Cover Classification - "A comprehensive standardised a priori classification system, designed to meet specified user requirements and created mapping exercises, but independent of the scale or means used".
  • FAO Publications on Remote Sensing. Summaries of some of the publications are available in Environmental Information: Resources (look under the "Publications" Section).
• FAO Land Cover Classification
• Minutes of the Meeting between Representatives of U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee - Earth Cover Working Group and Vegetation Subcommittee - and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 20-22 January 1997
• Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The center maintains Forest Dynamics Plot which are large (usually 50 hectares) permanent plots that are situated in natural forests in Africa, Latin America and Asia. All trees with a diameter of one centimeter or greater in the plots are mapped and monitored.
• Tropical Forests Digital Map Database - a global map of tropical moist forests at a scale of 1:1 million at World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC).
• ITTO - International Tropical Timber Organization. An international organization formed by treaty, composed of fifty-three (producing and consuming) member countries.
• Tropical Forest Update - A Newsletter from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) "to Promote Conservation and Sustainable Development of Tropical Forests"
• International Forest Issues at ERIN, Australia - A collection of articles/reports on international forest management/policy issues.
• Forests for Life - A World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Campaign.
• Linkages - A Multimedia Resources for Environment & Development Policy Makers - provided by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), publishers of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin. An electronic clearing-house for information on past and upcoming international meetings related to environment and development.
• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Home Page
• Rice Web - Everything you want to know about rice, one of the world's longest running cereals
• Rice World - Take a tour of the world's only museum dedicated to rice

Asia/Oceania

• Forestry and Vegetation Studies at CRISP, Singapore.
• Australian Rain Forest Homepage
• Tropical Forest Research Centre at CSIRO - The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
• CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology Research Programs
• Project Description of the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, Australia.
• Australia's Forests -
• Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) - "Established on the initiatives of the timber-based industry of Peninsular Malaysia and comes under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Primary Industries.
• A Guide to Malaysian Forestry Policies and Management at MTC - Contains articles on forestry policy and statistics on landuse and forest area.
• Ministry of Primary Industries, Malaysia
• Introduction to Forestry in Sarawak, Forestry Department, Sarawak, Malaysia.
• Forestry Department, Peninsular Malaysia
• Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM)
• Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (PORIM)
• Malaysian Rubber Research Development Board
• Rice Photographs and texts on rice planting in Vietnam.
• Singapore Parks and Nature Reserves
• NParks Singapore
• Online Singapore Botanic Gardena

North America

• USDA PLANTS Project - The PLANTS Database provides a single source of standardized information about plants: standardized plant names, symbols and other plant attribute information.
• USDA Forest Service
• GORP - US National Parks and Preserves
• Vegetation Subcommittee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
  • FGDC Vegetation Classification and Information Standards
  • Proposed Planted/Cultivated (Agricultural) Component to the FGDC Vegetation Classification and Information Standards
  • Comments of reviewers
• Earth Cover Working Group of the FGDC and the Request for Classification Systems
• Key Sources of Earth Cover Data and Maps
• Society of American Foresters
• Vegetation and soils field research database from Laboratary for applications of remote sensing, Purdue University.
• ForNet - Enhanced Access for Forest management, NASA & Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory Dept of forest resources, Univ of Minnesota.
• Precision Farming Institute, Purdue University
• Agri Engineering Texas A&M Univ.
• Fish and Wildlife Department Virginia Tech.
• Boreal Forest Watch
• Canadian Forests Education and Research - A directory of Canadian education and research organizations involved in the forest sector
• Forestry Advisers Network of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
• Sylva (Forestry) resource page at the University of Laval.
• Forest Alliance of British Columbia

Europe

• METLA - Finnish Forest Research Institute
• The Monitoring Tropical Vegetation Unit (MTV) is part of the Space Applications Institute at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. The MTV addresses issues related to the study of vegetation using data derived from earth observation instruments.
• COFORD - National Council for Forest Research and Development, University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland.
• Forestry at Remote Sensing Group, Chalmers University of Technology
• ERS InSAR: Forestry at University of Zurich Remote Sensing Laboratory
• Royal Holloway Institute for Environmental Research

Central/South America

• Modeling Light Penetration in Tropical Forest Canopies - Project description by Ned Fetcher, Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras .
• Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute at Panama.