EFFECTS OF SLOPE MORPHOLOGY ON AIRBORNE MULTISPECTRAL SCANNER DATA

Use of remotely sensed imagery in land use and vegetation classificati on studies has not always taken into account the effects of topography . Whilst previous work recognises that natural variation in slope and aspect has a deleterious effect on the accuracy of pixel-by-pixel clas sification based on reflectance values, the cause and effect relations hip has yet to be fully accounted for. This study confirms that the va riation in topography has an important effect on recorded reflectance values and that such effects are not random but follow direct relation ships. These relationships are dependent not only on the wavelength of the reflected radiation and the slope angle and aspect but also the b reak of slope. Results indicate that even at the microtopographic leve l, slope morphology has an appreciable effect on reflectance values me asured by an airborne scanner.