Abstract
Recently, withered tree areas have been appearing all over the world. In order to detect these areas in this incipient stage by remote sensing, we measured the spectral characteristics of leaves in different living conditions. By using the pattern decomposition method, we analyzed the relationship between the pattern decomposition coefficients and the state of withered vegetation, and defined a vegetation index to detect withering pine trees. We applied this index to satellite data, and surveyed the distribution of withered areas in Nara, Japan. By this method, tree mortality is detectable, especially in medium and heavy withering areas.
