Abstract: | Airborne remote sensing is a useful tool for the production of biocenosis maps. The use of an image processing system, integrating bathymetric data, makes it possible to considerably refine the charting, through a layer of water of variable thickness and quality. Other limiting factors may have an impact on the quality of results. The identification of these factors makes it possible to propose a scale of reliability. Four examples of aerial teledetection surveys provide the basis for ( i ) assessing the reliability of the maps, ( ii ) determining the reasons for this variation in reliability, and ( iii ) using the scale as a means for assessing the reliability of a given map. The factors used are such that the reliability scale could subsequently be applied to the cartography of other marine assemblages. |