Measuring Plant Cover in Sagebrush Steppe Rangelands: A Comparison of Methods

Methods that are more cost-effective and objective are needed to detect important vegetation change within acceptable error rates. The objective of this research was to compare visual estimation to three new methods for determining vegetation cover in the sagebrush steppe. Fourteen management units at the US Sheep Experiment Station were identified for study. In each unit, 20 data collection points were selected for measuring plant cover using visual estimation, laser-point frame (LPF), 2 m above-ground-level (AGL) digital imagery, and 100-m AGL digital imagery. In 11 of 14 management units, determinations of vegetation cover differed (P < 0.05). However, when combined, overall determinations of vegetation cover did not differ. Standard deviation, corrected sums of squares, coefficient of variation, and standard error for the 100 m AGL method were half as large as for the LPF and less than the 2-m AGL and visual estimate. For the purpose of measuring plant cover, all three new methods are as good as or better than visual estimation for speed, standard deviation, and cost. The acquisition of a permanent image of a location is an important advantage of the 2 and 100 m AGL methods because vegetation can be reanalyzed using improved software or to answer different questions, and changes in vegetation over time can be more accurately determined. The reduction in cost per sample, the increased speed of sampling, and the smaller standard deviation associated with the 100-m AGL digital imagery are compelling arguments for adopting this vegetation sampling method.     

Landsat5 TM遥感影像上太湖蓝藻水华反射光谱特征研究

利用ENVI遥感软件的FLAASH工具对2005年10月17日大规模蓝藻水华暴发的太湖Landsat5 TM影像进行大气校正处理,反演获得蓝藻水华和其他地物类型的遥感反射率图像,提取了不同集聚程度蓝藻水华的可见波段至近红外波段反射率数据,并与陆生植被、无蓝藻水面等地物的光谱反射率进行了比较。研究表明,与陆生植被、无蓝藻水面相比,蓝藻水华在TM2波段和TM4波段具有更高的反射率,在可见光波段整体反射率略高于陆生植被,在TM5、TM7波段则受水的影响反射率很低。从蓝藻水华、陆生植被的细胞生理结构、生长环境、复杂的遥感反射、散射及透射模型方面初步讨论了光谱差异的原因。     

不同土地利用类型的地表特征参量的遥感反演研究——以猫跳河流域为例

利用2007年5月Lansat5 TM数据,运用单通道算法,基于全国遥感监测土地利用/覆盖分类体系,对贵州省猫跳河流域的地表特征参量进行了反演,得到不同土地利用类型下的典型地表特征参数值。在3种主要的土地利用类型中,林地的植被指数最高、地表温度最低,农田的植被指数最低而地表温度最高,草地介乎林地和农田之间。城镇建设用地主要表现为热岛效应,而水域则主要表现为地表温度（LST）和归一化植被指数（NDVI）的双低特征。进一步对二级土地利用类型的分析表明,由于结构、功能的不同,土地利用二级类在地表特征参量方面也表现出了有规律地变化。有助于深入认识不同土地利用类型的物理特征,可以丰富主要土地利用类型的影像分类的先验知识,有望将不同土地利用方式的生态环境效应研究推进一步     

Decision Support System for Managing Oil Spill Events

The Mediterranean environment is exposed to various hazards, including oil spills, forest fires, and floods, making the development of a decision support system (DSS) for emergency management an objective of utmost importance. The present work presents a complete DSS for managing marine pollution events caused by oil spills. The system provides all the necessary tools for early detection of oil-spills from satellite images, monitoring of their evolution, estimation of the accident consequences and provision of support to responsible Public Authorities during clean-up operations. The heart of the system is an image processing–geographic information system and other assistant individual software tools that perform oil spill evolution simulation and all other necessary numerical calculations as well as cartographic and reporting tasks related to a specific management of the oil spill event. The cartographic information is derived from the extant general maps representing detailed information concerning several regional environmental and land-cover characteristics as well as financial activities of the application area. Early notification of the authorities with up-to-date accurate information on the position and evolution of the oil spill, combined with the detailed coastal maps, is of paramount importance for emergency assessment and effective clean-up operations that would prevent environmental hazard. An application was developed for the Region of Crete, an area particularly vulnerable to oil spills due to its location, ecological characteristics, and local economic activities.     

Phytosociological inference and resource management

The application of vegetation information to resource management problems is reviewed in four areas: (1) the stratification of vegetation data by classification and gradient analysis, (2) the storage and retrieval of these data, (3) the sources of vegetation information, and (4) the accuracy and resolution requirements posed by different management applications. Conclusions indicate that the successful application of inference methods to resource management problems requires an appropriate integration of these four components.     

Measuring Suspended‐Sediment Concentration and Turbidity in the Middle Mississippi and Lower Missouri Rivers Using Landsat Data

The Middle Mississippi River (MMR) and lower Missouri River (MOR) provide critical navigation waterways, ecological habitat, and flood conveyance. They are also directly linked to processes affecting geomorphic and ecological conditions in the lower MR and Delta. For this study, a method was developed to measure suspended‐sediment concentration (SSC) and turbidity along the MMR and the lower MOR using Landsat imagery. Data from nine United States Geological Survey water‐quality monitoring stations were used to create a model‐development dataset and a model‐validation dataset. Concurrent gaging data were identified for available Landsat images to generate the datasets. Surface‐reflectance filters were developed to eliminate images with cirrus cloud coverage or vessel traffic. Using the filtered model‐development dataset, unique reflectance‐SSC and reflectance‐turbidity models were developed for three Landsat sensors: Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and Landsat 4–5 Thematic Mapper. Coefficient of determination values for the models ranged from 0.72 to 0.88 for the model‐development dataset. The model‐validation dataset was used to evaluate the performance of the models and had coefficient of determination values ranging from 0.62 to 0.79.     

利用TM影像反演广州市气溶胶光学厚度空间分布

利用2005年7月18日摄录的广州市TM影像,在相关研究基础上建立了适合于复杂大气状况城市尺度的气溶胶光学厚度(Aerosol Optical Depth,AOD)反演模型,研究了广州市30m空间分辨率的AOD空同分布,并与同期的广州市地面9个空气质量监测站的PM10浓度进行比较.结果表明,利用TM影像较好地反演了广州市AOD空间分布.地形、植被、建成区分布是影响广州市AOD空间分布的主要因素,AOD按照高山植被区、靠近建成区的山地植被区、建成区与平原植被区的顺序逐渐增加.地面监测的PM10浓度与AOD的相关系数为0.717,基于TM影像反演的AOD可较好地反映当日地面污染物PM10的空间分布.     

面向对象的河口滩涂冲淤变化遥感分析

河口滩涂位于江河入海口前沿,其岸线受江河上游来水来沙、海水潮汐动力和人为因素影响处于不断变化中。针对遥感人工目视解译判读出岸线进行冲淤变化分析方法的不足,提出了面向对象的岸线遥感识别提取方法,阐述了整个遥感迭代识别提取过程。以长江河口崇明东滩为实验区,选取长江口1990年12月4日、1995年4月6日、2000年6月14日和2005年11月27日4个时相的陆地卫星TM/ETM+遥感影像,对其进行基于面向对象的识别处理,直接提取相应年份的岸线和滩涂陆域多边形,对4个年份的陆域多边形进行空间叠加分析,得到了崇明东滩自1990年以来15年间的冲淤空间变化。应用表明面向对象的遥感分析识别技术在河口滩涂冲淤变化分析中具有准确、快速、简便的特点。     

Satellite image analysis of human caused changes in the tundra vegetation around the city of Vorkuta,north-European Russia

In this paper we present what kind of human impacted changes can be found in dwarf birch (Betula nana) dominated shrub tundra vegetation around the large industrial complex of Vorkuta in the north-European Russian tundra. Using fieldwork data and Landsat TM satellite image we could identify two impact zones: (1) Pollution zone (150-200 km2). In this zone most of the lichen species are absent. Changes in vegetation communities' species composition in all main plant groups are obvious. Willows especially are more dominant than in the unpolluted sites. (2) Slight pollution/disturbance zone (600-900 km2). Here vegetation changes are mainly similar but less so than the changes in the first zone. Particularly, the amount of herbs and grasses is increased when compared to unpolluted areas. The pollution zones are spatially connected to the main emission sources in the area. Zones spread furthest to the northeast, matching the prevailing winds during winter.