Using Aerial Color‐infrared Photography and QuickBird Satellite Imagery for Mapping Wetland Vegetation

Aerial color‐infrared (CIR) photography and QuickBird high resolution (2.8 m) false color satellite imagery were evaluated for differentiating among wetland vegetation in two freshwater lakes on the Welder Wildlife Refuge in south Texas. Field spectral measurements made on dominant vegetation types (plant species and vegetation mixtures) showed significant differences in visible and near‐infrared reflectance. Several plant species and mixtures of species could be distinguished in the aerial photos and satellite imagery. Accuracy assessments performed on computer classifications of the photos of the two lakes had overall accuracies of 84% and 87%; whereas, accuracy assessments performed on classifications of the satellite imagery of the lakes had overall accuracies of 69% and 76%. The lower accuracies of the satellite image classifications were attributed to their coarser spatial resolution.