Remote sensing of balsam fir forest vigor

The potential of remote sensing to monitor indices of forest health was tested by examining the spectral separability of plots with different balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Mill, vigor. Four levels of vigor were achieved with controlled experimental manipulations of forest stands. In order of increasing vigor, the treatments were root pruning, control, thinning and thinning in combination with fertilization. Spectral reflectance of branchlets from each plot were measured under laboratory conditions using a field portable spectroradiometer with a spectral range from 350-2500 nm. Branchlets were discriminated using combinations of factor and discriminant analyses techniques with classification accuracies of 91% and 83% for early and late season analyses, respectively. Relationships between spectral reflectance measurements at canopy levels, stand vigor, and foliage quality for an insect herbivore will be analyzed further in support of future large scale monitoring of balsam fir vulnerability to insect disturbance.