Reprinted from 
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING 
Vol. XXVI, No. 2, April, 1960 
Report of Working Group 4 
Interpretation of Vegetation” 
COMMISSION VII, INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF 
PHOTOGRAMMETRY 
D. A. BOON, 
Forestry Division, 
International Training Centre for Aerial Survey, 
HIS report is a continuation of the excel- 
lent interim *Report of Working Group 
4," compiled by Mr. Earl Rogers two years 
ago, and published in the September 1958 
issue of PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING. 
Mr. Rogers’ compilation covered activity in 
the area of interest of working group 4 during 
the years 1956 to 1958. The present report 
therefore, is directed particularly toward the 
results obtained during the past two years in 
the application of photographic interpretation 
techniques to the study of vegetation. 
[n order to gather information for this re- 
port, a questionnaire was sent to countries all 
over the world. The response was much better 
than might have been expected, and the 
author is especially grateful for this spon- 
taneous evidence of fruitful cooperation. 
It will be noted however, that not all coun- 
tries are represented in the report. It is hoped 
that these gaps may serve as a stimulus for 
photo interpreters as yet unknown to join our 
working group in the future, for the benefit of 
the development of the national resources of 
their own countries. 
'The reader of this report will observe that 
considerable variation exists in the procedures 
used in different countries. In some cases this 
is the result of differing working conditions 
which will always exist between countries; in 
other cases a study of such procedural varia- 
tions may indicate how techniques of inter- 
pretation might be still further improved in 
one country or the other. 
Research programs are stil in an early 
stage in most countries. However, since re- 
search work is only fruitful when built on a 
foundation of practical experience, a develop- 
ment in research may be expected with more 
extensive use of aerial photography. Because 
Delft, The Netherlands 
of the close connection of research and prac- 
tical project work, they have, in the present 
report, been treated together for each coun- 
try, rather than separated as in the interim 
working group report. 
The report contains material related to the 
interpretation of vegetation for a number of 
purposes, including forestry, land use plan- 
ning, and flood control. Information was re- 
ceived from the contributors listed in Table 1 
as well as from recent publications listed in 
the attached bibliography. In some cases in- 
formation was also obtained directly from 
foreign foresters working at the International 
Training Centre at the time this report was 
prepared. 
AUSTRIA 
To obtain more profound information 
about the capacity of the Austrian forests for 
timber production in 1952, a general forest in- 
ventory project in this country has been 
started. One reason for this survey was that 
during and after the war there was an in- 
creased demand for timber; therefore the pos- 
sibility that over-cutting occurred cannot be 
discounted. Another reason is that the greater 
part of Austrian forests (6005) is owned by 
private farmers, and so far no detailed infor- 
mation about the timber capacity of these 
forests has been obtained. 
Therefore it was decided to start with an 
aerial survey of the majority of the country, 
to be used as a basis for the forest inventory. 
This survey was started in 1952 and finished 
in 1954. In total an area of 52,000 sq. km. was 
photographed mainly in the Alps region. 
Photographs were taken on a scale varying 
between 1:17,000 and 1:23,000. Exposures 
were made during the summer, to obtain op 
* 'This report is a part of the Report of Commission VII prepared for the International Photogram- 
metric Congress, London, 1960. 
6