„OUT-DOOR” INTERPRETATION OF SATELLITE IMAGES

Biró, Marianna, Molnár, Zsolt,Horváth, Ferenc and Révész, András

Institute of Ecology and BotanyVácrátót

Carpathian

Carp

athian

Adriatic

Peucedanum officinaleAster punctatus

Forest-steppe woodland

woodland

meadow + marsh

settlement5 km

1780Flood-plain of the Körös river

1822

1860

1884

1940

1950

1998

Recent and historical data sources

Present-day field data (surveys)Topographic maps, soil maps etc.Aerial photos, satellite images

flat steppe landscape

Hortobágy alkali steppe

Flood-plain

Primary alkali steppe

1783 Soil map Landsat TM, April

Hortobágy alkali steppe

Pasture map (1805)

Pitvaros

loess ridge

alkali steppe

marsh

dry

seasonally wet

wet

Alkali steppe landscape (20 000 hectares)

Cloudy April image with wetlands

Reconstructed wetland network

Borsodi-Mezőség

„Out-door” interpretation of satellite images

Iteration of field observation and interpretation50-100 times a day for e.g. 20 field days.

1. What is the vegetation of certain areas?2. What is their pattern in the landscape?3. How the surrounding landscape looks like?

The Hortobágy alkali steppe

Covered with semi-natural vegetation

Grasslands + wetlands + woodlands

Alkali and non-alkali grasslands

Primary and secondary grasslands

Alkali meadows and marshes

Wet meadows and drying-out meadows

Drying-out meadows with Agropyron

Alkali mud with/without Camphorosma

Hortobágy alkali steppe

Hortobágy alkali steppe

Ancient dunes with native trees

Abandoned arable field with non-native trees

Low natural value

High natural value

Kiskunság sand dunes

Kiskunság meadows

„Out-door” interpretation of satellite images

Adventages1. Quick iteration2. Locally validated, detailed „legend”3. Always has some historical aspect

Disadventages1. Need of remote sensing experts2. Technology is at home3. Quality of waterproof prints4. Satellites see „chlorofil+water+ soil”, not species/vegetation types