Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan Desert
A field characterization of the grassland vegetation structure, represented by the coverage of grass canopy (CGC) and the grass height, was carried out during three years (2009–2011) in a priority area for the conservation of grasslands of North America. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM5) images were sel...
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doaj-1577e3b0d87f49d892b777ec0b5de9ea2020-11-25T00:51:50ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2017-10-01647010.3390/land6040070land6040070Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan DesertAlberto Rodríguez-Maturino0José Hugo Martínez-Guerrero1Isaías Chairez-Hernández2Martín Emilio Pereda-Solis3Federico Villarreal-Guerrero4Marusia Renteria-Villalobos5Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez6Programa Institucional de Doctorado en Ciencias Agropecuarias y Forestales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango 34307, MexicoFacultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango 34305, MexicoInstituto Politécnico Nacional, CIIDIR, Durango 34220, MexicoFacultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango 34305, MexicoFacultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31453, MexicoFacultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31453, MexicoFacultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31453, MexicoA field characterization of the grassland vegetation structure, represented by the coverage of grass canopy (CGC) and the grass height, was carried out during three years (2009–2011) in a priority area for the conservation of grasslands of North America. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM5) images were selected and the information of reflectance was obtained based on the geographical location of each field-sampling site. Linear models, constructed with field and satellite data, with high coefficients of determination for CGC (R2 = 0.81, R2 = 0.81 and R2 = 0.72) and grass height (R2 = 0.82, R2 = 0.79 and R2 = 0.73) were obtained. The maps showed a good level of CGC (>25%) and grass height (>25 cm), except for the year 2009, which presented the lowest values of grass height in the area. According to the Kappa Index, a moderate concordance among the three CGC maps was presented (0.49–0.59). Conversely, weak and moderate concordances were found among the grass height maps (0.36–0.59). It was observed that areas with a high CGC do not necessarily correspond to areas with greater grass height values. Based on the data analyzed in this study, the grassland areas are highly dynamic, structurally heterogeneous and the spatial distribution of the variables does not show a definite pattern. From the information generated, it is possible to determine those areas that are the most important for monitoring to then establish effective strategies for the conservation of these grasslands and the protection of threatened migratory bird species.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/6/4/70remote sensingmodellingcoveragegrass heightCuchillas de la Zarca |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alberto Rodríguez-Maturino José Hugo Martínez-Guerrero Isaías Chairez-Hernández Martín Emilio Pereda-Solis Federico Villarreal-Guerrero Marusia Renteria-Villalobos Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez |
spellingShingle |
Alberto Rodríguez-Maturino José Hugo Martínez-Guerrero Isaías Chairez-Hernández Martín Emilio Pereda-Solis Federico Villarreal-Guerrero Marusia Renteria-Villalobos Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan Desert Land remote sensing modelling coverage grass height Cuchillas de la Zarca |
author_facet |
Alberto Rodríguez-Maturino José Hugo Martínez-Guerrero Isaías Chairez-Hernández Martín Emilio Pereda-Solis Federico Villarreal-Guerrero Marusia Renteria-Villalobos Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez |
author_sort |
Alberto Rodríguez-Maturino |
title |
Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan Desert |
title_short |
Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan Desert |
title_full |
Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan Desert |
title_fullStr |
Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan Desert |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mapping Land Cover and Estimating the Grassland Structure in a Priority Area of the Chihuahuan Desert |
title_sort |
mapping land cover and estimating the grassland structure in a priority area of the chihuahuan desert |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Land |
issn |
2073-445X |
publishDate |
2017-10-01 |
description |
A field characterization of the grassland vegetation structure, represented by the coverage of grass canopy (CGC) and the grass height, was carried out during three years (2009–2011) in a priority area for the conservation of grasslands of North America. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM5) images were selected and the information of reflectance was obtained based on the geographical location of each field-sampling site. Linear models, constructed with field and satellite data, with high coefficients of determination for CGC (R2 = 0.81, R2 = 0.81 and R2 = 0.72) and grass height (R2 = 0.82, R2 = 0.79 and R2 = 0.73) were obtained. The maps showed a good level of CGC (>25%) and grass height (>25 cm), except for the year 2009, which presented the lowest values of grass height in the area. According to the Kappa Index, a moderate concordance among the three CGC maps was presented (0.49–0.59). Conversely, weak and moderate concordances were found among the grass height maps (0.36–0.59). It was observed that areas with a high CGC do not necessarily correspond to areas with greater grass height values. Based on the data analyzed in this study, the grassland areas are highly dynamic, structurally heterogeneous and the spatial distribution of the variables does not show a definite pattern. From the information generated, it is possible to determine those areas that are the most important for monitoring to then establish effective strategies for the conservation of these grasslands and the protection of threatened migratory bird species. |
topic |
remote sensing modelling coverage grass height Cuchillas de la Zarca |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/6/4/70 |
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