Evaluation Method of the Aesthetic Value of Scenic Forest based on the Visualization Function of Geomatics——A Case Study of Plum Blossom Hill of Nanjing

The aesthetic value of scenic forest in Plum Blossom Hill in Nanjing in the years of 2000 and 2004 was comparatively studied by means of visualization function of software RS, GIS, Erdas version 8.7, and ArcGis version 9.0 and according to data acquired by high resolution remote sensing image of IKNOS, QuickBird and DEM system. Based on retrieval of the boundaries of sub-compartments and manipulation of spatial subsets, the scenic forest types were classified and aesthetical evaluation factors were selected by visual interpretation on computer screen according to the corresponding criteria. Among the aesthetical evaluation factors, landform variation could be obtained directly by reading the shade area of sub-compartment, while the viewing condition could be analyzed by view-shed of ArcGis. Evaluation results showed that there was no evident change in aesthetic quality of the scenic forest in Plum Blossom Hill during the period from 2000 to 2004, but with improving tendency. Suggestions were put forward to improve the aesthetic grade of the scenic forest towards different forest types, the problems related to the visualization method were analyzed, and the corresponding research trends were discussed.