Based on the detection of storm losses in Swiss alpine forest areas, two different digital classification approaches were compared. In contrast to the pixel based classification we investigated an object-oriented classification procedure. The eCognition software package of Definiens offers this possibility. The comparison was performed for images with different spatial resolution – very high resolution images of IKONOS, and images of SPOT in the sharpened mode.

Rapid expansion of coastal aquacultre/shrimp farming in several countries has necessitated the inventory and monitoring of shrimp farms. these are essential tools for decision making on aquaculture development, including regulatory laws,environmental protection and revenue collection. In the context of aquaculture development policies of respective governments, much attention are focused on the identification and classification of shrimp farms, often located in remote areas.

The permanent growth of metropolitan areas is a phenomenon which can be observed world wide in a huge number of countries. One of these boom regions is the Phoenix (PHX) metropolitan area, located in the south western part of the U.S. It shows an impressive growth starting in 1960. The use of satellite remote sensing imagery enables the synoptic monitoring of the growth pattern and their specific dynamics. The main research questions are: where did the growth took place and when did it happen?