DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF AVHRR-DERIVED REGIONAL FOREST COVER DATA FOR THE NORTH-EASTERN US

As part of developing the geographic information system (GIS) to suppo rt a north-eastern U.S. regional forest change modelling effort, we in vestigated the utility of several sources of AVHRR data in regional fo rest cover mapping. Single-date classified Advanced Very High Resoluti on Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery in combination with existing USGS Land U se/Land Cover data was used to create a forest cover database that enc ompassed eastern New York state and all of New England. The USGS EROS Data Center Conterminous U.S. Land Cover Characteristics database was also evaluated for comparison. Statistical analysis showed that the AV HRR-derived regional land cover datasets provided estimates of total f orest area that were comparable to U.S. Forest Service county level es timates. The AVHRR imagery recorded after leaf fall appeared to enhanc e the discrimination of coniferous vs. deciduous forests.