[Application of remote sensing technology in medicinal plant resources]

The sustainable use of medicinal plants is the foundation of the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and the acquisition of information on medicinal plants is the basis for the development of TCM. The traditional methods of investigating medicinal plant resources are disadvantageous in strong subjectivity and poor timeliness, making it difficult to real-time monitor medicinal plant resources. In recent years, remote sensing technology has become an important means of obtaining information on medicinal plants. The application of this technology has made up for the shortcomings of traditional methods. The open-access remote sensing data with medium spatial resolution satellites provide an opportunity for extracting information on medicinal plant resources. This study firstly introduced the principles of remote sensing technology, summarized the satellites and the parameters commonly used in the field of medicinal plant resources, and compared the survey methods of remote sensing technology with traditional methods. Secondly, it reviewed the applications of remote sensing technology in the extraction of information on the cultivation of medicinal plants and the common methods for extracting the planting structure information of medicinal plants based on remote sensing technology. Thirdly, the applications of remote sensing technology in the investigation and monitoring of medicinal plants were further analyzed with the research objects divided into wild and cultivated medicinal plants according to the characteristics of the habitats. Finally, it pointed out the key unsolved technical problems in the remote sensing monitoring of medicinal plant resources, and proposed solutions for the intelligent information processing of medicinal plants based on remote sensing big data, which is expected to provide references for the development of remote sensing technology in derivative application in medicinal plant resources.