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.
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