Remote sensing-based determination of understory grass greening stage over boreal forest

Quazi K. Hassan; K. Mahmud Rahman

doi:10.1117/1.JRS.7.073578

8 April 2013 Remote sensing-based determination of understory grass greening stage over boreal forest

Quazi K. Hassan, K. Mahmud Rahman

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, Vol. 7, Issue 1, 073578 (April 2013). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.7.073578

Abstract

Our objective was the determination of understory grass greening stage (GGS: defined as the date when 75% of the grass in the surrounding area of a particular location would be green) using remote sensing data over the boreal-dominant forested regions in the Canadian province of Alberta. We used moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived accumulated growing degree days (AGDD) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) with ground-based understory GGS observations at approximately 120 lookout tower sites during the period 2006 to 2008. During 2006, we extracted the temporal dynamics of AGDD/NDWI at the lookout tower sites and determined the best thresholds (i.e., 90 degree-days for AGDD and 0.45 for NDWI). These AGDD/NDWI thresholds were then implemented during 2007 and 2008; and observed that AGDD had better prediction capabilities in comparison to NDWI (i.e., ∼94% and ∼65% of the incidents fall within ±2 periods or ±16 days of deviations with the ground-based understory GGS observations using AGDD and NDWI thresholds, respectively). The outcomes would potentially be useful in understanding availability of food and habitat for wildlife species/animals; microclimatic environment, composition, and diversity of plant community; and forest fire danger and fire behavior in case of fire occurrences.

© The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Citation Download Citation

Quazi K. Hassan and K. Mahmud Rahman "Remote sensing-based determination of understory grass greening stage over boreal forest," Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 7(1), 073578 (8 April 2013). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.7.073578

Published: 8 April 2013

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available