High Altitude Aerial Photography for the Interpretation of Agricultural Land Use

Abstract

<p> Agricultural land use in the Niagara Peninsula was examined using high altitude colour infrared aerial photography obtained from aircraft. A visual analysis of the photography revealed that it contained great detail, and that the hue and density of the images were especially important in the interpretation process. In the subsequent densitometric investigation, it was found that quantified image density alone was of limited value in land use recognition, due to the density distortion inherent in the photography. The numerical data were much more useful when the ratios of densities in two emulsion layers of the film were determined, since this procedure largely removed the distortion element. </p>