Mapping the distribution of invasive shrub <em>Austroeupatorium inulifolium</em> (Kunth) R. M. King & H. Rob: a case study from Sri Lanka

• Main Authors: I. P. K. Piyasinghe, J. Gunatilake, H. M. S. P. Madawala
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 2018-03-01
• Series: Ceylon Journal of Science
• Subjects: spatial distribution, austroeupatorium inulifolium, worldview-2, invasive shrub, sri lanka
• Online Access: https://cjs.sljol.info/articles/7492
• ISSN: 2513-2814; 2513-230X

A light loving invasive shrub, <em>Austroeupatorium inuli­folium </em>has been spreading many land use types in the Knuckles Forest Reserve (KFR) in Sri Lanka, including man-made grass­lands. In developing countries, there are limitations of using novel technologies to quantify and track the distribution of invasive spe­cies due to high costs and lack of facilities. This is a setback for their early detection and to introduce effective control measures. This pilot study attempted to map the distribution of <em>A. inulifolium </em>in man-made grasslands in KFR using high spatial multispectral images. Unsupervised, supervised and knowledge-based classifi­cations were performed to quantify the spatial distribution of <em>A. inulifolium </em>in ERDAS Imagine. The results generated compara­ble results of the extent of area under <em>A. inulifolium </em>by using the unsupervised (108 ha), supervised (94 ha) and knowledge-based classifications (93 ha). They were 18, 15 and 15% from the to­tal area selected for the study (622 - 646 ha), respectively. The results indicated the suitability of high spatial multispectral imag­eries in quantifying the spatial distribution of <em>A. inulifolium</em>. Fur­ther studies are recommended to investigate long-term changes in invasive plant population using multi temporal satellite data.