Estimating the mean canopy diameter of teak plantations from Landsat MSS data

Abstract An attempt has been made to estimate mean canopy diameter in managed even-aged teak (Teclona grandis L.) plantations using Landsat-4 Multispectral Scanner (MSS) data. Mean canopy diameter of 23 plantations of different ages ranging from 4 to 63 years were measured. The variables entering regression equations were selected by the ‘leaps and bounds’ technique. The R2 value of the regression used to estimate the mean canopy diameter was 0-63 with spectral variables and 0-82 with age and spectral variables. The performance of these equations was evaluated by resubslilulion and ‘leave-one-out’ methods. Mean average deviation and mean square deviation were smaller when age was included in the regression equation. Inclusion of age along with spectral variables increased the accuracy of prediction.