Monitoring Vegetation Change Using Satellite Data

Native vegetation will respond in predictable ways to a variety of stresses. Depending on the intensity and duration of the stress, the response may be at the cellular level, the morphological/macroscopic level, or the community level. Figure 8.1 presents examples of some typical vegetation responses to stress. All of the examples of change at different levels given in Figure 8.1 have diagnostic spectral characteristics which can be detected by using various types of remote sensing systems. Because of the sensitivity of native vegetation to stress factors associated with environmental change (moisture levels, nutrient levels, temperature, anthropogenic factors, etc.), the ability to remotely detect subtle levels of change (response to stress) in the vegetation may prove to be a very useful indicator of environmental change. Remote sensing techniques employing satellite multispectral data provide an accurate means of detecting, quantifying, mapping, and monitoring change in vegetation on local, regional, and global scales. Change at different scales in both vegetation kind (vegetation types, species associations, etc.) and vegetation condition (state of health, degree of deforestation, seasonal stage of growth, etc.) can be studied by using various sensor systems and image processing techniques. Table 8.1 summarizes some of the available satellite data currently in use for change detection purposes.

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