Remote sensing of vegetation and land-cover change in Arctic Tundra Ecosystems

• Published in: Remote sensing of environment Vol. 89; no. 3; pp. 281 - 308
• Main Authors: Stow, Douglas A, Hope, Allen, McGuire, David, Verbyla, David, Gamon, John, Huemmrich, Fred, Houston, Stan, Racine, Charles, Sturm, Matthew, Tape, Kenneth, Hinzman, Larry, Yoshikawa, Kenji, Tweedie, Craig, Noyle, Brian, Silapaswan, Cherie, Douglas, David, Griffith, Brad, Jia, Gensuo, Epstein, Howard, Walker, Donald, Daeschner, Scott, Petersen, Aaron, Zhou, Liming, Myneni, Ranga
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 15-02-2004; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Alaska; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied geophysics; Arctic tundra vegetation; Biological and medical sciences; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Techniques; Global climate; Internal geophysics; Land cover change; Teledetection and vegetation maps; Vegetation change; Canada; Alaska; United States; Arctic region; Arctic; PN, Arctic; Alaska; Arctic tundra vegetation; Vegetation change; Global climate; Land cover change; ponds; very high resolution; aerial photography; NOAA; Space remote sensing; satellite orbit; vegetation; ice; climate; clouds; classification; North America; frequency; tundra; instruments; ecosystems; radiometry; polar regions; spatial resolution; atmosphere-soil interaction; lakes; programs; calibration; land cover
• ISSN: 0034-4257; 1879-0704
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2003.10.018

The objective of this paper is to review research conducted over the past decade on the application of multi-temporal remote sensing for monitoring changes of Arctic tundra lands. Emphasis is placed on results from the National Science Foundation Land–Air–Ice Interactions (LAII) program and on optical remote sensing techniques. Case studies demonstrate that ground-level sensors on stationary or moving track platforms and wide-swath imaging sensors on polar orbiting satellites are particularly useful for capturing optical remote sensing data at sufficient frequency to study tundra vegetation dynamics and changes for the cloud prone Arctic. Less frequent imaging with high spatial resolution instruments on aircraft and lower orbiting satellites enable more detailed analyses of land cover change and calibration/validation of coarser resolution observations.
The strongest signals of ecosystem change detected thus far appear to correspond to expansion of tundra shrubs and changes in the amount and extent of thaw lakes and ponds. Changes in shrub cover and extent have been documented by modern repeat imaging that matches archived historical aerial photography. NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) time series provide a 20-year record for determining changes in greenness that relates to photosynthetic activity, net primary production, and growing season length. The strong contrast between land materials and surface waters enables changes in lake and pond extent to be readily measured and monitored.