India is a biodiversity-rich country. The panorama of Indian forests ranges from tropical evergreen rain forests in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Western Ghats, and the north-eastern States, to Dry Alpine Scrub high in the Himalayas in the north. On the other extreme, tropical dry deciduous and thorn forest is found in the deserts and dry areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The variety and distribution of forest vegetation are large, and India is one of the 17 mega biodiversity regions of the world. Forestry in India supports a sizeable non-wood forest product-based economy apart from timber and fuelwood. In forested landscapes people are integrated with forest and make living out of it. On the other hand urbanization and infrastructure development are putting considerable pressure on forests. These issues need effective and efficient forest monitoring system. Hence in late 1980s, India entrusted Forest Survey of India to evolve robust and scientific method of forest monitoring. Thus, India has taken an early lead in establishing a forest monitoring system. The history of forest cover mapping using satellite images in the country goes back to 1983 when National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA—now known as NRSC-ISRO) prepared the first-ever forest cover map of India. Later, Forest Survey of India has been mandated with the forest cover mapping of the country in the biennial cycle since 1987. Three decades of forest cover mapping on a regular basis have been a remarkable achievement in the field of natural resource monitoring. India’s remote sensing-based periodic monitoring of forest cover, which is unique in the world, has played a major role in conservation and enhancement of forest cover of the country. Evolving with satellite data improvement and technological advancements, the methodology of forest cover mapping by FSI has seen significant changes over the years, wherein Indian remote sensing data, particularly the IRS 1C/1D LISS III data, have been the primary input in the time series mapping. This paper reviews the chronology and significance of this important forest monitoring programme of India.

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使用印度遥感卫星数据进行的三个十年全国森林覆盖测绘：印度监测森林保护的成功案例

印度是一个生物多样性丰富的国家。印度森林的全景范围从安达曼和尼科巴群岛、西高止山脉和东北部各州的热带常绿雨林，到北部喜马拉雅山高处的干燥高山灌木丛。在另一个极端，在拉贾斯坦邦和古吉拉特邦的沙漠和干旱地区发现了热带干燥的落叶和刺林。森林植被种类繁多，分布广泛，印度是世界17大生物多样性地区之一。除了木材和薪材外，印度的林业还支持以非木材林产品为基础的大量经济。在森林景观中，人们与森林融为一体，并以此为生。另一方面，城市化和基础设施发展给森林带来了相当大的压力。这些问题需要有效和高效的森林监测系统。因此，在 1980 年代后期，印度委托印度森林调查局发展稳健而科学的森林监测方法。因此，印度率先建立了森林监测系统。该国使用卫星图像绘制森林覆盖的历史可以追溯到 1983 年，当时国家遥感局 (NRSA，现称为 NRSC-ISRO) 准备了印度有史以来的第一张森林覆盖图。后来，自 1987 年以来，印度森林调查局被授权在两年一次的周期中对该国进行森林覆盖测绘。三年的定期森林覆盖测绘在自然资源监测领域取得了显著成就。印度基于遥感的森林覆盖定期监测，在世界上绝无仅有，在保护和加强国家森林覆盖方面发挥了重要作用。随着卫星数据改进和技术进步，FSI 的森林覆盖制图方法多年来发生了重大变化，其中印度遥感数据，特别是 IRS 1C/1D LISS III 数据，已成为时间序列的主要输入映射。本文回顾了印度这一重要森林监测计划的时间顺序和意义。