Using a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) some of the key features of the Pang Soong Field Centre are being mapped. This includes the trails, hydrological and topographic information as well as general data such as roads and place names. N.B. Use Google Chrome/ Internet Explorer to use interactive features (enable pop-ups).
The vegetation quadrats are situated within various locations in the community forest (tea plantation, coffee plantation, undisturbed forest and high elevation forest) where we are recording species composition in a 2x2m quadrat. See the ‘Biodiversity‘ page for species lists.
Using the Landuse Classification layer it is possible to see the how built up, agricultural or forested the water catchment areas are and how the land use changes from the relatively undisturbed upland areas to the low lands. The landuse classification is derived from Landsat ETM+ imagery from 2006 using remote sensing techniques. Land cover reflects light differently depending upon the type, for example evergreen forest has a lower reflectance value than deciduous forest. The image is then categorised according to these values and the categories identified by ‘ground truthing’ (visiting certain control locations to identify the land use type) . The image used was taken in February (the dry season) which means that the deciduous trees at the lower elevations appear quite different from the dark green evergreen forests. One can also see a lot of water in the flat area to the East of Chiang Mai, these are not lakes but the flooded paddy fields.
Historical satellite data and aerial photography shows the process of urbanisation and development from the 60′s through to 2006. The satellite imagery is displayed in ‘false colours’ in order to show the distinction between vegetation and urbanised areas. The bands used and their corresponding wavelength are; bands 2 (0.525-0.605 µm), 4 (0.75-0.90 µm) and 7 (2.09-2.35 µm).
Further information giving species data and water quality data will also be included in time. For any enquiries/ comments contact Michelle Cuzner-Charles.
michelle@track-of-the-tiger.com
Acknowledgments:
Satellite Imagery courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Hi Adrian. I obtained details of your webset site after viewing John Moore’s webe site. I am a passionate insect photographer. I contacted John some months seeking his recommendation as to a location where I could photograph bugs in Thailand. As a result I obtained the details of the Punsen Hide-away which adjoins the Waing-Kosai National Park. It seems to be a perfect location. I plan to spend about 4 weeks in Thailand. 2 weeks will be long enough for my stay at Punsen so I am looking for somewhere to visit for about another two weeks. I wonder if you centre caters for someone like me or can you recommend another location.
I am sorry if I have inconvenienced you. Regards Nick Milsum.