Hyperspectral remote sensing for monitoring species-specific drought impacts in southern California

• Main Author: Coates, Austin Reece
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Subjects: ecology; remote sensing
• ISBN: 1339510944; 9781339510941

A drought persisting since the winter of 2011-2012 has resulted in severe impacts on shrublands and forests in southern California, USA. Effects of drought on vegetation include leaf wilting, leaf abscission, and potential plant mortality. These impacts vary across plant species, depending on differences in species' adaptations to drought, rooting depth, and edaphic factors. During 2013 and 2014, Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data were acquired seasonally over the Santa Ynez Mountains and Santa Ynez Valley north of Santa Barbara, California. To determine the impacts of drought on individual plant species, spectral mixture analysis was used to model a relative green vegetation fraction (RGVF) for each image date in 2013 and 2014. A July 2011 AVIRIS image acquired during the last nondrought year was used to determine a reference green vegetation (GV) endmember for each pixel. For each image date in 2013 and 2014, a three-endmember model using the 2011 pixel spectrum as GV, a lab nonphotosynthetic vegetation (NPV) spectrum, and a photometric shade spectrum was applied. The resulting RGVF provided a change in green vegetation cover relative to 2011. Reference polygons collected for 14 plant species and land cover classes were used to extract the RGVF values from each date. The deeply rooted tree species and tree species found in mesic areas appeared to be the least affected by the drought, whereas the evergreen chaparral showed the most extreme signs of distress. Coastal sage scrub had large seasonal variability; however, each year, it returned to an RGVF value only slightly below the previous year. By binning all the RGVF values together, a general decreasing trend was observed from the spring of 2013 to the fall of 2014. This study intends to lay the groundwork for future research in the area of multitemporal, hyperspectral remote sensing. With proposed plans for a hyperspectral sensor in space (HyspIRI), this type of research will prove to be invaluable in the years to come. This study also intends to be used as a benchmark to show how specific species of plants are being affected by a prolonged drought. The research performed in this study will provide a reference point for analysis of future droughts.