Photograph Identification: P-44750Mende, France
Temperate Forest Monitoring
This is an X-bandseasonal image of the central part of Lozere Departement situated south of theMassif Central in France. The image is 10 kilometers by 25 kilometers (6 milesby 15.5 miles) and is centered at approximately 44.3 degrees north latitude and3 degrees east longitude. This image was acquired by the Spaceborne ImagingRadar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on April 15, 1994 and on October 6, 1994. The image channels have the followingcolor assignments: red was acquired in April; green was acquired in October;and blue is the ratio of the two data sets combined. Seasonal differences inthe vegetation are visible in pink, which are heaths growing in the spring. This research area features two large limestone plateaus cut by the famousGorges du Tarn, standing in parallel with the granite mountain range known asthe Cevennes Mountains nearby. Land-use consists mainly of grasslands, heathsand forests. Forest types seen in the images are Austrian pines, Scots pines,spruce, fir and beech trees. Most forests were planted at the end of the 19th century through a national reforestation program aimed at reducing the strong erosion risks in these areas. This program was so successful that today theforests are exploited for forest pulpwood and sawlogs, but also remainprotected as conservation regions. The study being performed in this area willassess the potential of spaceborne radar remote sensing for temperate foresttype mapping and forest resource monitoring. The combination of X-band SARdata with lower frequency data (such as the SIR-C, L-band data) allowsscientists to distinguish forest tree species and biomass, or areas of groundvegetation. The lessons learned from the radar images of these controlledforest regions can be applied to larger areas and naturally grown forests tohelp ecologists protect and maintain them. The SIR-C/X-SAR images will beinvestigated by scientists from th remote sensing laboratory Cemagref inMontpellier and the National Foresty Board in Mende, France.
![[MENDE, FRANCE]](MENDEFRA.GIF)