Hyperspectral identification of grassland vegetation in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China

Derivative spectroscopy of hyperspectral reflectance data of grassland vegetation was used to extract the wavelength peaks of different grass species of Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. Caragana microphylla, which is characteristic of dry areas, was successfully detected among the four dominant grass species found in the typical Xilinhot grassland, using fourth-derivative peaks around 670 nm and 720 nm. A radiative transfer simulation showed that the identification scheme was not distorted by the atmosphere during airborne remote sensing. This suggests that high-order derivative spectroscopy of hyperspectral reflectance data from grassland vegetation can be an effective tool for advanced mapping and for the monitoring of grasslands.