Assessment of sagebrush cover using remote sensing at multiple spatial and temporal scales

摘要: Abstract Rangelands occupy a large portion of the Earth's land surface and provide many ecosystem services to human populations around world. Increasingly, however, ability rangelands continue providing these is challenged by anthropogenic influence. There an urgent need monitor changes in through time across geographic areas. Current field-based methods used assess are limited because their inability account for spatial temporal variation. An alternative approach presented using high resolution imagery as enhanced ground samples multi-spatial remote sensing quickly, cheaply, effectively map basic cover components. High-resolution, ground-based natural color vertical photography captures, space time, percent vegetative abiotic components at plot level. This maintains visual history allowing other investigators repeat observation or use sampling techniques extract improved additional information. These plot-based measures then linked airborne satellite acquired extrapolation measurements landscapes. Linking remotely sensed can allow documentation change past 30 years utilizing Landsat imagery. Our process was applied sagebrush-steppe landscape northern Utah with promising results. Extrapolation vegetation data extracted from 1 m Ikonos regression tree analysis resulted overall R2 value 0.81 while 30 m Thematic Mapper 0.90 5-fold cross-validation. A comparison between independently multiple intervals showed moderately strong correlation R2 = 0.65 Mapper. technique has great potential place rangeland health contextual perspective that not been available before. In this way, management practices be evaluated effectiveness altering rangelands. With hindsight, prescriptions developed valuable tool assessing public grazing allotments renewal habitat quality sensitive wildlife species like greater sage-grouse.