Airplanes and satellites can carry sensors that record the emitted or reflected rays of the Earth’s surface. This provides us information on the size, composition or health of a forest.

Some sensors deliver images in a low spatial resolution (this means not very detailed) but they offer two advantages: they are delivered in a high frequency and they cover very large areas . SPOT VEGETATION images are provided in a resolution of only 1 km, but they daily cover almost the entire surface of the Earth. These global images are used to study and follow up different phenomena on continental, regional or global scale. These phenomena can be seasonal changes in vegetation, drought, deforestation or forest fires.

High resolution images show much more details but cover a lesser area. These images can be used for urban mapping or to determine the general health of trees.

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