Interpreting aireal photos for timber identification and hunting

[gregg dudley]

I have been using google earth to look at some spots to hunt and am realizing that in some cases I really don't know what I am seeing.  Sure, I can identify major features like roads, clearings, streams, rivers, etc. and that is helpful.  I can also identify that trees are different, but my eye is not trained to recognize the differences to the point of tree identification.  Obviously, I can spot planted pines, but would like to be able to do a bit more.  Are there some resources with keys/samples/teaching tools that you have found helpful.  Right now, I can't see the trees for the forest!    

[Nantahala Nut]

If you know the date the picture was taken you could observe the foliage. Different hardwoods turn different colors in fall and drop leaves at different times. That could give you a clue. Last season I noticed that the oaks in my area held onto their leaves longer than the other hardwoods.

[gregg dudley]

That's exactly the kind of thing that I am talking about.  I'm looking at Florida and Georgia though and we don't get as much color change and leaf loss.  Tomorrow I'll post a picture and someone can tell me what I'm     looking at!

[fireball31]

I would be very wary of posting a google earth photo of the area you plan on hunting unless you want to share it.

[Babbling Bob]

David Paine has a book on aerial photo and image interpretation.

Had a text book from a (civil engineering) class on aerial photography in the mid seventies I took in grad school. Easy to understand, but unfortunately, can't find it.   Aerial photos can tell a lot like what is the predominant soils (by drainage patterns) and ground cover.  We used scopes over sequenced maps to read the elevation changes like they did in the military.  Most forestry supply houses will have that equipment. Finding maps is something else.

[rich13]

Ground truthing is how you get proficient.

[SELFBOW19953]

Gregg,

If you can find color infrared photos it's much easier to ID tree types.  These photos are usually taken in late winter/early spring.  Evergreens, pine, holly, etc. show up as red.  For starters, you can look for GIS sites on State or County websites.  They often have several years of aerials, sometimes including infrared.

Here's a link to the Marion County GIS data, 5 aerials covering 11 years (found by typing in Marion County, FL, then searching their Information Technology office).

 http://maps.marioncountyfl.org/interactivemap/

IDing individual trees is very difficult on an aerial unless you know a specific tree.

[Nantahala Nut]

I'm definitely interested in learning more about this topic. The gamelands I hunt are 10s of thousands of acres. I use terrain maps to look for funnels but if I could pick out potential oak stands it would really help me narrow down my scouting areas.

[Jack Hoyt 75]

Google earth takes all they pictures in late fall or early spring when little or no leaves on the trees.  If you can identify different species of trees in a woods from google you are good !!!

[nek4me]

If by "ground truthing" rich13 means comparing a know piece of property to the satellite photo that's how I do it. It doesn't take long to identify blocks of tree types but individual or groups of trees such as a wild apple stand can be tough as detail for extreme close shots gets fuzzy.

All the Google Earth I've seen has been of the summer so leaf color or dropped/not dropped which would help a lot here in the Northeast is out.

I was surprised to see I was at my VT camp when the current photos of that area were taken. Can see the car and the neighbor's visiting Lab which also helps me date it to last summer.

[gregg dudley]

Great feedback, guys.  
Phil, that is a great resource that you linked to.  Thanks.

Ground truthing makes good sense and I will give it some practice. In the past I have assumed/ thought that what I was looking at on a photo was an oak hammock only to discover that it was something else that turned out to be unhuntable.  Last year, for example, what I was seeing turned out to be overgrown flagponds that were dry and impenetrable.

[Bud B.]

For my area here in NC, I use the gis services for county tax maps. They usually do their photos in winter. Very easy to pick out evergreens.

[Bud B.]

http://www.pa.marion.fl.us/Freeance/Client/PublicAccess1/index.html?appconfig=MCPAGIS

You have to mess with the software to figure out how to activate the 2015 aerial layer. Some maps have floodplain layers as well. Good for up here, probably not for Florida.