How many bits?

Since 1982, Landsat has acquired multispectral data using 8-bit data. With many new and highly advanced systems and sensors being developed, we wish to evaluate the benefits of higher radiometric precision for forestry applications. Two industrial forestry sites in central Virginia are chosen to carry out this analysis because of the large variability in standing biomass associated with recovery from past harvest. IKONOS imagery and Earth Observing System’s Advanced Land Imager (ALI) imagery are used in the study. These sensors acquire data using 11 and 12 bits, respectively. By subsampling to Landsat spatial resolution, and truncating the dynamic range and radiometric resolution, we can create Landsat-like image products at a variety of radiometric resolutions. Results show that although a difference can be seen when comparing datasets of higher and lower radiometric resolution, those differences appear to be small when trying to discriminate the boundaries of disturbed stands.