LEDAPS is a NASA-funded project to map North American forest disturbance since 1975 from the Landsat and ASTER satellite data.
The LEDAPS project is processing the North American GLS imagery to surface reflectance, using atmospheric correction routines developed for the Terra MODIS instrument, and then use change-detection techniques to map disturbance, regrowth, and permanent forest conversion across the continent. Phase I activities (2004-2008) focused on mapping disturbance from 1990-2000; Phase II (2009-2011) focuses on providing 5-year updates for the 1990-2005 period. LEDAPS is funded through the NASA Terrestrial Ecosystems Program and the NASA Applied Sciences Program.
LEDAPS also produces maps of surface reflectance derived from Landsat imagery to support a variety of ecosystem studies. LEDAPS is part of NASA’s contribution to the North American Carbon Program (NACP), a component of the USGCRP Carbon Cycle Science Program.
See also:
NACP North American Forest Dynamics Project: Forest Disturbance and Regrowth Data