Abstract
To identify the current situation of our rural land in the context of the limited natural resources and environmental capacity of the earth, it is necessary to develop a more practical vegetation mapping method based on image processing of aerial photographs than actual vegetation map. However, for the woodlands, it is impossible to identify floor vegetation coverage or growth from aerial photographs, except canopy tree figure such as crown size, tree stand density and tree height. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the relation between canopy tree conditions and floor vegetation coverage based on both image processing of aerial photographs and forest survey, as a case study in artificial forests of Chamaecyparis obtusa. In results, it became apparent that there were no sufficient floor vegetation under canopy trees less than at 2m tree stand interval and at 15m tree height. On the other hand, 2500 pixel square (about 187m2) gray image were utilized from digital aerial photograph data, in order to count and calculate standard deviation from each gray image. In comparing it with the floor vegetation cover rate and tree height, the relationship between them were recognized. In conclusion, It was considered that standards deviation of gray image were possible to utilize as a factor of floor vegetation with forest stand structure.
