Identification of the altitudinal limit of woods through object oriented segmentation and validation using GPS survey

Target of this work is the definition of the upper tree limit and the identification of clumps and isolated trees above it using an object-oriented classification of aerial ortophotos. The case study is related to Mt. Giovo, in the northern Apennines. A check on the field using a GPS system was done over some sample areas to identify coordinates and to create a GPS profile of the upper tree limit and clumps of isolated trees. The goal is to “validate” in terms of quality and quantity the information on the features extracted from aerial imagery.