Rediscovering bamboo: remote sensing and geographic information systems perspective

Remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) are widely applied in forest mapping to obtain high quality and quantity data. The launch of RS satellites heralded a new beginning in natural resource survey and management. Soon the technique was adopted for mapping the distribution of individual species, such as bamboo. Recognizing the importance of bamboo to livelihoods in rural areas, forest ecosystems, and the economy, this work highlights the importance of RS and GIS in the mapping of bamboo-bearing areas through satellite imagery. The work also analyzes the applicability of RS/GIS to better management and conservation of bamboo resources. Mapping bamboo requires improvement in the traditional classification scheme and thorough ground truthing. Successful classification of the imagery would provide data on the current status of bamboo and assist in modeling future scenarios. In a GIS environment, action plans can be generated for effective bamboo resource planning. Over all, since RS and GIS have tremendous ability to remotely identify and classify bamboo, the methods should be put to better use to utilize the potential offered.