SEASONAL COMPARISON OF REMOTELY SENSED RELATIVE FOREST ECOSYSTEM TEMPERATURE ZONES WITH TOPOGRAPHY AND FOREST BIOMASS IN THE CLEAR SPRINGS WILDERNESS AREA OF THE SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST

摘要

The use of thermal infrared data to delineate seasonal relative forest ecosystem temperature zones as a tool for forest ecological studies was analyzed. Analysis involved: (1) delineating relative seasonal forest ecosystem temperature zones within the Clear Springs Wilderness Area of the Shawnee National Forest using Landsat Thematic Mapper thermal infrared data; and, (2) quantifying the effect of topography and forest biomass on relative forest ecosystem temperature zones within seasons. Results indicate that slope was statistically uncorrelated with relative temperature zones within any season, aspect was statistically correlated with relative temperature zones during fall and winter, and forest biomass was statistically correlated with relativetemperature zones during fall and spring which may indicate the use of thermal infrared data as an aid in identifying forest structure/age.