OBJECTIVETo explore the survey methods for the cultivated medicinal plant resources such as Panax notogingseng based on remote sensing.

METHODThrough the preliminary study by remote sensing technique and field survey in the study area, the optimal methods in the procedure were chosen for the survey.

RESULTIn this study,a set of survey method for P. notogingseng based on remote sensing technique was founded, which included the remotely sensed data-source selecting, the remote sensing image processing, interpretation and validation etc.

CONCLUSIONWith different resolution remotely-sensing data at the study area, the area, the natural storage and the yield of P. notoginseng were calculated. For Maguan county, with SPOT5 (5 m), the relative right rate of judgement, the relative precision of area and the relative precision of yield with statistics was 92.7%, 94.4% and 78.2% separately, and with TM (30 m), the relative right rate of judgement, the relative precision of area was only 71.4% and 58.8%, though, for Qiubei county, with TM (30 m), the relative precision of area with statistics could reach 74.7%, which showed that choosing appropriate remotely-sensing data and processing methods for different area, the remote sensing technique is feasible for resource survey of cultivated medicinal plants such as P. notoginseng.