The impact of groundwater depth on the spatial variance of vegetation index in the Ordos Plateau, China: A semivariogram analysis

As important sensitive feedback of ecosystems, spatial distribution and patterns of vegetation can remarkably reflect eco-environmental conditions in arid and semiarid areas, where groundwater plays a significant role. The impact of groundwater depth (GD) on the spatial variance in remote-sensing vegetation index is highlighted in this study over the Erdos Plateau, China. The 250 m resolution mean annual Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data in the period 2000-2010 are analyzed and compared to the same resolution data of GD. It is indicated from the semivariogram that the correlation range of EVI (10-22 km) is close to the correlation range of GD (9-19 km) and both of them show a near to zero nugget. The semivariance of EVI generally decreases with the increasing GD from 0 m to 10 m, but the relationship could be disturbed by other factors. In the semiarid region of the study area where the aridity index falls between 3 and 5, the 98th percentile EVI which represents high density vegetation decreases nonlinearly with the increasing GD from 0 m to 7 m. In the arid region where the aridity index is higher than 5, EVI is relatively low and almost independent on groundwater. The 50th percentile EVI is generally not sensitive to GD, especially in the arid region. Thus, the spatial variance of vegetation is a synthetic result of the climatic and hydrogeological conditions, which should be considered in the regulation of groundwater resources at the regional scale for ecological benefits.

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Climate-forced changes of bio-productivity of Belorussian terrestrial ecosystems

Исследования Земли из космоса ◽

10.31857/s0205-96142019677-88 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 77-88

Author(s):

S. A. Lysenko

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Precipitation Amount ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Vegetation Period ◽

Climatic Trend ◽

Vegetation Growth ◽

Current Century ◽

The Impact

The spatial and temporal particularities of Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) changes over territory of Belarus in the current century and their relationship with climate change were investigated. The rise of NDVI is observed at approximately 84% of the Belarus area. The statistically significant growth of NDVI has exhibited at nearly 35% of the studied area (t-test at 95% confidence interval), which are mainly forests and undeveloped areas. Croplands vegetation index is largely descending. The main factor of croplands bio-productivity interannual variability is precipitation amount in vegetation period. This factor determines more than 60% of the croplands NDVI dispersion. The long-term changes of NDVI could be explained by combination of two factors: photosynthesis intensifying action of carbon dioxide and vegetation growth suppressing action of air warming with almost unchanged precipitation amount. If the observed climatic trend continues the croplands bio-productivity in many Belarus regions could be decreased at more than 20% in comparison with 2000 year. The impact of climate change on the bio-productivity of undeveloped lands is only slightly noticed on the background of its growth in conditions of rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

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Urban Fire Severity and Vegetation Dynamics in Southern California

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13010019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 19

Author(s):

Lauren E. H. Mathews ◽

Alicia M. Kinoshita

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Cover ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Fire Severity ◽

Satellite Image ◽

Burn Severity ◽

Native Vegetation ◽

Riparian Areas ◽

The Impact

A combination of satellite image indices and in-field observations was used to investigate the impact of fuel conditions, fire behavior, and vegetation regrowth patterns, altered by invasive riparian vegetation. Satellite image metrics, differenced normalized burn severity (dNBR) and differenced normalized difference vegetation index (dNDVI), were approximated for non-native, riparian, or upland vegetation for traditional timeframes (0-, 1-, and 3-years) after eleven urban fires across a spectrum of invasive vegetation cover. Larger burn severity and loss of green canopy (NDVI) was detected for riparian areas compared to the uplands. The presence of invasive vegetation affected the distribution of burn severity and canopy loss detected within each fire. Fires with native vegetation cover had a higher severity and resulted in larger immediate loss of canopy than fires with substantial amounts of non-native vegetation. The lower burn severity observed 1–3 years after the fires with non-native vegetation suggests a rapid regrowth of non-native grasses, resulting in a smaller measured canopy loss relative to native vegetation immediately after fire. This observed fire pattern favors the life cycle and perpetuation of many opportunistic grasses within urban riparian areas. This research builds upon our current knowledge of wildfire recovery processes and highlights the unique challenges of remotely assessing vegetation biophysical status within urban Mediterranean riverine systems.

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Bulk Drag Predictions of Riparian Arundo donax Stands through UAV-Acquired Multispectral Images

Water ◽

10.3390/w13101333 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 1333

Author(s):

Giuseppe Francesco Cesare Lama ◽

Mariano Crimaldi ◽

Vittorio Pasquino ◽

Roberta Padulano ◽

Giovanni Battista Chirico

Keyword(s):

Riparian Vegetation ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Arundo Donax ◽

Water Bodies ◽

Giant Reed ◽

Multispectral Images ◽

Drainage Channel ◽

Area Index ◽

Riparian Plants ◽

The Impact

Estimating the main hydrodynamic features of real vegetated water bodies is crucial to assure a balance between their hydraulic conveyance and environmental quality. Riparian vegetation stands have a high impact on vegetated channels. The present work has the aim to integrate riparian vegetation’s reflectance indices and hydrodynamics of real vegetated water flows to assess the impact of riparian vegetation morphometry on bulk drag coefficients distribution along an abandoned vegetated drainage channel fully covered by 9–10 m high Arundo donax (commonly known as giant reed) stands, starting from flow average velocities measurements at 30 cross-sections identified along the channel. A map of riparian vegetation cover was obtained through digital processing of Unnamed Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-acquired multispectral images, which represent a fast way to observe riparian plants’ traits in hardly accessible areas such as vegetated water bodies in natural conditions. In this study, the portion of riparian plants effectively interacting with flow was expressed in terms of ground-based Leaf Area Index measurements (LAI), which easily related to UAV-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The comparative analysis between Arundo donax stands NDVI and LAI map enabled the analysis of the impact of UAV-acquired multispectral imagery on bulk drag predictions along the vegetated drainage channel.

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Vegetation Dynamic Assessment by NDVI and Field Observations for Sustainability of China’s Wulagai River Basin

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18052528 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 2528

Author(s):

Panpan Chen ◽

Huamin Liu ◽

Zongming Wang ◽

Dehua Mao ◽

Cunzhu Liang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

River Basin ◽

Vegetation Change ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Dynamic Assessment ◽

Indicator System ◽

Vegetation Changes ◽

Vegetation Dynamic ◽

Management Policies ◽

The Impact

Accurate monitoring of grassland vegetation dynamics is essential for ecosystem restoration and the implementation of integrated management policies. A lack of information on vegetation changes in the Wulagai River Basin restricts regional development. Therefore, in this study, we integrated remote sensing, meteorological, and field plant community survey data in order to characterize vegetation and ecosystem changes from 1997 to 2018. The residual trend (RESTREND) method was utilized to detect vegetation changes caused by human factors, as well as to evaluate the impact of the management of pastures. Our results reveal that the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of each examined ecosystem type showed an increasing trend, in which anthropogenic impact was the primary driving force of vegetation change. Our field survey confirmed that the meadow steppe ecosystem increased in species diversity and aboveground biomass; however, the typical steppe and riparian wet meadow ecosystems experienced species diversity and biomass degradation, therefore suggesting that an increase in NDVI may not directly reflect ecosystem improvement. Selecting an optimal indicator or indicator system is necessary in order to formulate reasonable grassland management policies for increasing the sustainability of grassland ecosystems.

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Coastal Mangrove Response to Marine Erosion: Evaluating the Impacts of Spatial Distribution and Vegetation Growth in Bangkok Bay from 1987 to 2017

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12020220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 220 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Han Xiao ◽

Fenzhen Su ◽

Dongjie Fu ◽

Qi Wang ◽

Chong Huang

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Mangrove Ecosystem ◽

Early Growth ◽

Growth Stages ◽

Human Disturbances ◽

Vegetation Growth ◽

Two Parameters ◽

The Impact

Long time-series monitoring of mangroves to marine erosion in the Bay of Bangkok, using Landsat data from 1987 to 2017, shows responses including landward retreat and seaward extension. Quantitative assessment of these responses with respect to spatial distribution and vegetation growth shows differing relationships depending on mangrove growth stage. Using transects perpendicular to the shoreline, we calculated the cross-shore mangrove extent (width) to represent spatial distribution, and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to represent vegetation growth. Correlations were then compared between mangrove seaside changes and the two parameters—mangrove width and NDVI—at yearly and 10-year scales. Both spatial distribution and vegetation growth display positive impacts on mangrove ecosystem stability: At early growth stages, mangrove stability is positively related to spatial distribution, whereas at mature growth the impact of vegetation growth is greater. Thus, we conclude that at early growth stages, planting width and area are more critical for stability, whereas for mature mangroves, management activities should focus on sustaining vegetation health and density. This study provides new rapid insights into monitoring and managing mangroves, based on analyses of parameters from historical satellite-derived information, which succinctly capture the net effect of complex environmental and human disturbances.

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Seasonal Variations of Daytime Land Surface Temperature and Their Underlying Drivers over Wuhan, China

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13020323 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 323

Author(s):

Liang Chen ◽

Xuelei Wang ◽

Xiaobin Cai ◽

Chao Yang ◽

Xiaorong Lu

Keyword(s):

Surface Temperature ◽

Land Surface Temperature ◽

Land Surface ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Maximum Temperature Difference ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

The Impact ◽

The City

Rapid urbanization greatly alters land surface vegetation cover and heat distribution, leading to the development of the urban heat island (UHI) effect and seriously affecting the healthy development of cities and the comfort of living. As an indicator of urban health and livability, monitoring the distribution of land surface temperature (LST) and discovering its main impacting factors are receiving increasing attention in the effort to develop cities more sustainably. In this study, we analyzed the spatial distribution patterns of LST of the city of Wuhan, China, from 2013 to 2019. We detected hot and cold poles in four seasons through clustering and outlier analysis (based on Anselin local Moran’s I) of LST. Furthermore, we introduced the geographical detector model to quantify the impact of six physical and socio-economic factors, including the digital elevation model (DEM), index-based built-up index (IBI), modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), population, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the LST distribution of Wuhan. Finally, to identify the influence of land cover on temperature, the LST of croplands, woodlands, grasslands, and built-up areas was analyzed. The results showed that low temperatures are mainly distributed over water and woodland areas, followed by grasslands; high temperatures are mainly concentrated over built-up areas. The maximum temperature difference between land covers occurs in spring and summer, while this difference can be ignored in winter. MNDWI, IBI, and NDVI are the key driving factors of the thermal values change in Wuhan, especially of their interaction. We found that the temperature of water area and urban green space (woodlands and grasslands) tends to be 5.4 °C and 2.6 °C lower than that of built-up areas. Our research results can contribute to the urban planning and urban greening of Wuhan and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the city.

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A GNSS-IR Method for Retrieving Soil Moisture Content from Integrated Multi-Satellite Data That Accounts for the Impact of Vegetation Moisture Content

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13132442 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 2442

Author(s):

Jichao Lv ◽

Rui Zhang ◽

Jinsheng Tu ◽

Mingjie Liao ◽

Jiatai Pang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Moisture Content ◽

Satellite Data ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Soil Moisture Content ◽

Support Vector ◽

Observation Data ◽

Multipath Effect ◽

Mars Model ◽

The Impact

There are two problems with using global navigation satellite system-interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) to retrieve the soil moisture content (SMC) from single-satellite data: the difference between the reflection regions, and the difficulty in circumventing the impact of seasonal vegetation growth on reflected microwave signals. This study presents a multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) SMC retrieval model based on integrated multi-satellite data on the impact of the vegetation moisture content (VMC). The normalized microwave reflection index (NMRI) calculated with the multipath effect is mapped to the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to estimate and eliminate the impact of VMC. A MARS model for retrieving the SMC from multi-satellite data is established based on the phase shift. To examine its reliability, the MARS model was compared with a multiple linear regression (MLR) model, a backpropagation neural network (BPNN) model, and a support vector regression (SVR) model in terms of the retrieval accuracy with time-series observation data collected at a typical station. The MARS model proposed in this study effectively retrieved the SMC, with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.916 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.021 cm3/cm3. The elimination of the vegetation impact led to 3.7%, 13.9%, 11.7%, and 16.6% increases in R2 and 31.3%, 79.7%, 49.0%, and 90.5% decreases in the RMSE for the SMC retrieved by the MLR, BPNN, SVR, and MARS model, respectively. The results demonstrated the feasibility of correcting the vegetation changes based on the multipath effect and the reliability of the MARS model in retrieving the SMC.

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Monitoring Vegetation Greenness in Response to Climate Variation along the Elevation Gradient in the Three-River Source Region of China

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi10030193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 193

Author(s):

Zhaoqi Wang ◽

Xiang Liu ◽

Hao Wang ◽

Kai Zheng ◽

Honglin Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Index ◽

Source Region ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

Climate Variation ◽

Mean Annual Precipitation ◽

Near Infrared Reflectance ◽

Area Index ◽

Vegetation Greenness ◽

The Mean ◽

The Impact

The Three-River Source Region (TRSR) is vital to the ecological security of China. However, the impact of global warming on the dynamics of vegetation along the elevation gradient in the TRSR remains unclear. Accordingly, we used multi-source remote sensing vegetation indices (VIs) (GIMMS (Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies) LAI (Leaf Area Index), GIMMS NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), GLOBMAP (Global Mapping) LAI, MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index), MODIS NDVI, and MODIS NIRv (near-infrared reflectance of vegetation)) and digital elevation model data to study the changes of VGEG (Vegetation Greenness along the Elevation Gradient) in the TRSR from 2001 to 2016. Results showed that the areas with a positive correlation of vegetation greenness and elevation accounted for 36.34 ± 5.82% of the study areas. The interannual variations of VGEG showed that the significantly changed regions were mainly observed in the elevation gradient of 4–5 km. The VGEG was strongest in the elevation gradient of 4–5 km and weakest in the elevation gradient of >5 km. Correlation analysis showed that the mean annual temperature was positively correlated with VIs, and the effect of the mean annual precipitation on VIs was more obvious at low altitude than in high altitude. This study contributes to our understanding of the VGEG variation in the TRSR under global climate variation and also helps in the prediction of future carbon cycle patterns.

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Assessing the impact of seasonal precipitation and temperature on vegetation in a grass-dominated rangeland

The Rangeland Journal ◽

10.1071/rj13098 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 185 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Fang Chen ◽

Keith T. Weber

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Index ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Growing Season ◽

Vegetation Growth ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Normalised Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

The Impact ◽

Precipitation And Temperature

Changes in vegetation are affected by many climatic factors and have been successfully monitored through satellite remote sensing over the past 20 years. In this study, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra satellite, was selected as an indicator of change in vegetation. Monthly MODIS composite NDVI at a 1-km resolution was acquired throughout the 2004–09 growing seasons (i.e. April–September). Data describing daily precipitation and temperature, primary factors affecting vegetation growth in the semiarid rangelands of Idaho, were derived from the Surface Observation Gridding System and local weather station datasets. Inter-annual and seasonal fluctuations of precipitation and temperature were analysed and temporal relationships between monthly NDVI, precipitation and temperature were examined. Results indicated NDVI values observed in June and July were strongly correlated with accumulated precipitation (R2 >0.75), while NDVI values observed early in the growing season (May) as well as late in the growing season (August and September) were only moderately related with accumulated precipitation (R2 ≥0.45). The role of ambient temperature was also apparent, especially early in the growing season. Specifically, early growing-season temperatures appeared to significantly affect plant phenology and, consequently, correlations between NDVI and accumulated precipitation. It is concluded that precipitation during the growing season is a better predictor of NDVI than temperature but is interrelated with influences of temperature in parts of the growing season.

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