Landsat satellite imagery has been routinely available to researchers and resource scientists since 1972. Many studies have demonstrated the application of Landsat imagery for conducting inventories and mapping various natural resources. Examples of applications presented in this paper include: timber volume
inventory, range productivity inventory, wildland vegetation mapping, inventory of rangeland conversion and irrigated lands, and mapping strip mine disturbance in forested areas. Costs and accuracies for each of these application areas are presented. Landsat data, used in its proper context with appropriate analysis techniques, supporting data, and sound sampling strategies, can be an effective tool in conducting natural resource inventories.
Other Landsat systems, scheduled for launch in 1978 and 1981, will provide continuity in the availability of Landsat data to users. Improvements in the quality and timeliness of data delivered to users, along with improved data handling procedures, analysis techniques, and improved sampling frameworks should increase the use of satellite imagery in natural resource inventories.
