Development of a Method to Estimate Distribution of Paddy Fields in Southeast Asia Using Terra/ASTER Data

In Asian countries, paddy field is indispensable for our lives not only as a source of food but also ecosystem, hydrology, landscape, culture and global warming. In this sense it is necessary to get the detailed spatial distribution of paddy field in Asian region. Remote sensing seems to be the most appropriate tool to estimate paddy field. In this study, two Terra/ASTER images acquired on different date were used to get a map of paddy field with different planting. ASTER's 15-m resolution was found to be enough to be recognize individual paddy field . Paddies with different planting stages were divided into five types using their spectral patterns. As a result a map of paddies with different planting was obtained with tolerably high accuracy.