A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources & Development

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1993

Tropical forest in Phangnga Bay of Southern Thailand were analyzed using SPOT HRV and JERS-1 data. Particular emphasis was given to the classification of mangrove forests based on species and density. Results show that mangrove and non-mangrove discrimination can be done with an extremely high accuracy using SPOT XS data. Furthermore, six mangrove types based on species and density were discerned. Mangrove and non-mangrove delineations were not possible using at least single date JERS-1 data, however, Once mangrove area is stratified, four mangrove types were discriminated. The overall accuracy of synergistic image decreased for mangrove type classification compared to SPOT classification, nevertheless, two additional classes were discriminated in this image. This additional information comes from the RADAR data however, majority of the information in this synergistic image comes from the SPOT data. Problems and prospects of using these two data sources is discussed. It was also noted that Incorporation of GIS data base increases the classification accuracy. A comparison of visual and digital image analysis was performed. It is concluded that neither method can extract all the information inherent in the imagery. The possibility of using hybrid approach is explored.