High-resolution Image to Map Bamboo-dominated Gaps in the Atlantic Rain Forest, Brazil

This study presents the results referring to the analysis of QuickBird high resolution satellite images to establish patterns associated to the landscape dynamics in bamboo forests at the Intervales Park (São Paulo State, Brazil), considering its ecologic aspects. The methodology was based on visual image interpretation, as a preliminary step for digital processing. The results show the possibilities for the use of these high resolution data to map forests with bamboo dominance as well as for monitoring phenologic cycles of these dominant species. The visual interpretation was an adequate technique for our study, emphasizing that the knowledge of the ecological aspects from these forest typologies was of fundamental importance to understand the patterns mapped with this image.