Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #268047
Title: Employing airborne multispectral digital imagery to map Brazilian pepper infestation in south Texas.

Author
item Fletcher, Reginald
item EVERITT, JAMES - Retired ARS Employee
item Yang, Chenghai

Submitted to: Geocarto International
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/5/2011
Publication Date: 11/1/2011
Citation: Fletcher, R.S., Everitt, J.H., Yang, C. 2011. Employing airborne multispectral digital imagery to map Brazilian pepper infestation in south Texas. Geocarto International. 26(7):527-536.

Interpretive Summary: To maintain diversity of natural ecosystems and to implement management plans designed to control Brazilian pepper infestations in south Texas, managers need tools that they can employ to map this invasive plant in natural and disturbed systems. A study was conducted in south Texas to determine the feasibility of using airborne digital imagery for differentiating the invasive plant Brazilian pepper from other cover types. Imagery acquired with a five-camera digital imaging system was subjected to a computerized image classification procedure to derive maps of two study sites infested with Brazilian pepper. Maps created with the computer analysis of the imagery had accuracies ranging from 84.6% 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.

Technical 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 was employed to develop thematic maps of two areas infested with Brazilian pepper. Map accuracies ranged from 84.6% 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.