Employing airborne multispectral digital imagery to map Brazilian pepper infestation in South Texas |
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| Authors: | Reginald Fletcher James Herbert Everitt Chenghai Yang |
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| Institution: | 1. USDA-ARS , 2413 E. Highway 83, Weslaco, Weslaco, Texas, 78596, USA reginald.fletcher@ars.usda.gov;3. USDA-ARS , 2413 E. Highway 83, Weslaco, Weslaco, Texas, 78596, USA |
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| Abstract: | A study was conducted in south Texas to determine the feasibility of using airborne multispectral digital imagery for differentiating the invasive plant Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius) from other cover types. Imagery obtained in the visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared regions of the light spectrum and a supervised classification approach were employed to develop thematic maps of two areas infested with Brazilian pepper. Map accuracies ranged from 84.2 to 100% for the Brazilian pepper class. Findings support using airborne multispectral digital imagery as a tool for separating Brazilian pepper from associated land cover types and further encourage exploration of airborne multispectral digital imagery and image processing techniques for developing maps of Brazilian pepper infestation in Texas and abroad. |
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| Keywords: | Brazilian pepper aerial imagery multispectral invasive plants |
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