A summary of the LANDSAT Great Plains Corridor projects and the principal results are presented. Emphasis is given to the use of satellite acquired phenological data for range management and agri-business activities. A convenient method of reducing LANDSAT MSS data to provide quantitative estimates of green biomass on rangelands in the Great Plains is explained. Suggestions for the use of this approach for evaluating range feed conditions are presented. A LANDSAT Follow-on project has been initiated which will employ the green biomass estimation method in a quasi-operational monitoring of range readiness and range feed conditions on a regional scale

Deering, D. W.

Haas, R. H.

Rouse, J. W., Jr.

Schell, J. A.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

MONITORING VEGETATION CONDITIONS FROM A 4  
LANDSAT FOR USE IN RANGE MANAGEMENT 
R.H. Haas, D.W. Deering, J . W .  Rouse, Jr., and J . A .  S c h e l l  
Texas A6M Univers i ty  
College S t a t i o n ,  Texas 
ABSTRACT 
A summary of  t h e  LANDSAT Great P l a i n s  Corridor 
p r o j e c t s  and the  p r i n c i p a l  r e s u l t s  a r e  presented.  Emphasis 
i s  given t o  t h e  use of  s a t e l l i t e  acquired phenological  d a t a  
f o r  range management and agr i -bus iness  a c t i v i t i e s .  A con- 
venient  method o f  reducing LANDSAT MSS da ta  t o  provide 
q u a n t i t a t i v e  es t imates  of green biomass on rangelands i n  
t h e  Great P la ins  is  explained.  Suggestions f o r  t h e  use of  
t h i s  approach f o r  eva lua t ing  range feed condi t ions  a r e  
presented.  A LANDSAT Follow-on p r o j e c t  has been i n i t i a t e d  
which w i l l  employ t h e  green biomass es t imat ion  method i n  a  
quas i -opera t iona l  monitoring of  range readiness  and range 
feed condi t ions  on a  r eg iona l  s c a l e .  
INTRODUCTION 
The Great P la ins  Corr idor  p r o j e c t  conducted by 
Texas AGM Universi ty a s  p a r t  of  t h e  NASA LANDSAT i nves t iga -  
t i o n s  has y ie lded  r e s u l t s  of  cons iderable  s i g n i f i c a n c e  t o  
rangeland manageinent and agr i -bus iness  a c t i v i t i e s  employing 
P E ~ E D I N G  PAGE BLANK NOT FII2.IEi) 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19760010385 2020-03-22T16:37:08+00:00Z
phenology d a t a ,  The o b j e c t i v e  of t h i s  p r o j e c t  was t o  use 
s a t e l l i t e  remote sens ing d a t a  t o  observe n a t u r a l  vegeta t ion  
systems both as forage  crop and as  phenological  i n d i c a t o r s  
throughout t h e  Great P la ins  of t h e  c e n t r a l  United S t a t e s .  
I t  was hypothesized t h a t  t h e  vernal  advancement and r e t r o -  
gradat ion  of  n a t u r a l  vegeta t ion  could be monitored using 
LANDSAT imagery and d i g i t a l  m u l t i s p e c t r a l  scanner (MSS) 
da ta .  I t  was f u r t h e r  assumed t h a t  n a t u r a l  vegeta t ion  systems 
used a s  phenological  i n d i c a t o r s  of  seasonal  development 
would provide an important means of  measuring b i o c l i m a t i c  
e f f e c t s  on a  regional  bas is .  
The Great P la ins  Corridor Study has emphasized and 
developed techniques f o r  q u a n t i t a t i v e  ana lys i s  of LANDSAT 
MSS s p e c t r a l  radiance da ta  a s  q u a n t i t a t i v e  i n d i c a t o r s  of 
t h e  amount and seasonal  condi t ion  o f  rangeland vegeta t ion .  
The techniques used a r e  viewed a s  a  v i a b l e  a l t e r n a t i v e  t o  
q u a l i t a t i v e  assessments made through image i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .  
The Great P la ins  Corridor p r o j e c t  has a l s o  been 
responsib le  f o r  t h e  development of r e l a t e d  LANDSAT a c t i v i t i e s  
i n  the  Great P l a i n s  and e s p e c i a l l y  i n  Texas. The s p i n o f f  
p r o j e c t s  have been user-genera ted;  consequently , t h e  inves-  
t iga t ion  i s  impacting an e s t a b l i s h e d  management e f f o r t s .  
These p r o j e c t s  inc lude  monitoring t h e  management o f  leased 
pub l i c  rangelands and mapping w i l d l i f e  h a b i t a t .  
PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS 
S p e c i f i c  accomplishments achieved i n  s tudy ing  t h e  
use o f  LANDSAT d a t a  f o r  t h e  q u a n t i t a t i v e  assessment  o f  
n a t u r a l  v e g e t a t i o n  a r e  a s  follows: 
1 )  An e f f e c t i v e  test s i t e  network c o n s i s t i n g  o f  
t e n  pr imary t e s t  si tes was e s t a b l i s h e d  throughout  t h e  Great  
P l a i n s  Corr idor .  More than  217 s e t s  o f  c l o u d - f r e e  s a t e l l i t e  
. 
d a t a  and 200 s e t s  o f  ground t r u t h  d a t a  were c o l l e c t e d  f o r  
t h e  t e s t  s i t e s  involved  i n  t h e  s tudy .  Cooperators  from 
s t a t e  and f e d e r a l  agencies  acqui red  v e g e t a t i o n  measurement 
d a t a  a t  t h e  time o f  LANDSAT overpass  du r ing  t h e  non-dormant 
seasons  f o r  a  p e r i o d  o f  2 3  months. Out o f  t h e  d a t a  s e t s  
c o l l e c t e d ,  124 s a t e l l i t e  d a t a  s e t s  wi th  cor responding  ground 
d a t a  were u t i l i z e d  i n  t h e  a n a l y s i s .  
2 )  An a lgor i thm was employed and t e s t e d  f o r  
c o r r e c t i n g  MSS d i g i t a l  d a t a  f o r  changes i n  s o l a r  i n t e n s i t y  
a s  a  func t ion  of s o l a r  e l e v a t i o n  angle .  Changing i l l u m i n a t i o n  
cond i t i ons  a r e  a  s e r i o u s  problem f o r  making temporal compar- 
i sons  o f  d i g i t a l  d a t z  va lues .  The s u c c e s s f u l  a p p l i c a t i o n  o f  
t h e  s o l a r  ang le  c o r r e c t i o n  model made i t  p o s s i b l e  t o  compare 
d i g i t a l  d a t a  from frame t o  frame, c y c l e  t o  c y c l e ,  and l o c a -  
t i o n  t o  l o c a t i o n  throughout  t he  du ra t ion  of t h e  i n v e s t i g a t i o n .  
S ince  development and application o f  atmospheric  c o r r e c t i o n  
a lgo r i thms  was no t  an o b j e c t i v e  of  t h i s  s tudy ,  d a t a  r e -  
q u i r i n g  l a r g e  c o r r e c t i o n s  f o r  haze o r  t h i n  c i r r u s  were 
omi t t ed  from t h e  a n a l y s i s .  
3) The t h e o r e t i c a l  d e r i v a t i o n  of  t h e  normalized 
band d i f f e r e n c e  l e d  t o  t h e  development o f  t h e  Trans  formed 
Vegeta t ion  Index (TVI). I n v e s t i g a t i o n s  e a r l y  i n  t h e  p r o j e c t  
l e d  t o  development of  t h e  hypothes is  t h a t  t h e  normalized 
d i f f e r e n c e  between t h e  r ed  and i n f r a r e d  bands was p o t e n t i a l l y  
u s e f u l  f o r  t h e  q u a n t i t a t i v e  measurement o f  green biomass. 
Th i s  p o t e n t i a l  was r e a l i z e d  i n i t i a l l y  through t h e  development 
o f  t h e  Transformed Vegeta t ion  Index (TVI) . TVI was formu- 
l a t e d  a s  t h e  fo l lowing  r a t i o  us ing  MSS Bands 7 and 5 va lues :  
TVI = + 0.5 
In  t h e  f i n a l  a n a l y s i s ,  it was found t h a t  t h e  d i f f e r e n c e  
between Band 5 and Band 6 i s  g e n e r a l l y  more s e n s i t i v e  t o  
t h e  d e t e c t i o n  and q u a n t i t a t i v e  assessment  o f  green b ionass  
d i f f e r e n c e s .  The new parameter  i s  c a l l e d  TVI6, where Band 6 
2 
r ep l aced  Band 7 i n  TVI. R v ues f o r  TVI and TV16 r eg res sed  
on green biomass, p l a n t  mois ture  con ten t  and t h e  combination 
of t h e  two (Table I )  i l l u s t r a "  t h e  gene ra l  s u p e r i o r i t y  o f  
TVI6. 
4) Deta i led  s t a t i s t i c a l  analyses show t h a t  t h e  
TVf6 parameter,  along wi th  l i m i t e d  weather d a t a ,  i s  adequate 
t o  q u a n t i t a t i v e l y  assess rangeland feed condi t ions .  Using 
t h e  most extens ive  da ta  s e t  c o l l e c t e d  a t  a s i n g l e  t e s t  s i t e  
( the  Throckmorton, Texas t e s t  s i t e ) ,  d e t a i l e d  s t a t i s t i c a l  
analyses show t h e  p o t e n t i a l  f o r  t h e  use of t h e  LANDSAT-derived 
parameter f o r  t h e  q u a n t i t a t i v e  measurement of  green biomass. 
A comparison o f  t h e  LANDSAT TVI values  t o  t h e  green biomass 
measured a t  the  Throckmorton t e s t  s i t e  is shown i n  Figure I .  
Factors  such a s  a o i s t u r e  content  o f  t h e  vege ta t ion ,  o r  t h e  
a l t e r n a t i v e  use o f  p r e c i p i t a t i o n  and temperature d a t a ,  a r e  
necessary  f o r  aode l ing  a  p r e d i c t i v e  equation f o r  e s t ima t ing  
green biomass t o  t h e  d e s i r e d  accuracy. 
With TV16 a s  t h c  dependent v a r i a b l e ,  a s tepwise 
mul t ip le  regress ion  a n a l y s i s  was performed t o  s e l e c t  t h e  
v a r i a b l e s  most l i k e l y  t o  expla in  t h e  v a r i a t i o n  observed i n  
t h e  LANDSAT observat ions .  The b e s t  f o u r - v a r i a b l e  model i s  
expressed by t h e  fol lowing equation:  
, 
where Y = TVIG,  
X 1  = green biomass (kg/ha) 
X 2  = p r e c i p i t a t i o n  s i n c e  l a s t  s a t e l l i t e  overpass 
[18 days] ( inches)  
X1 = p r e c i p i t a t i o n  on t h e  day be fo re  t h e  overpass 
( inches)  
X, - maximum temperature on t h e  day of t h e  s a t e l l i t e  
overpass (OF) 
These independent v a r i a b l e s  accounted f o r  more than 908 o f  
the  v a r i a t i o n  i n  t h e  TV16 values.  The above parameters 
were u t i l i z e d  t o  ob ta in  a f o u r - v a r i a b l e  model wi th  green 
biomass a s  t h e  dependent v a r i a b l e  and u t i l i z i n g  TVI6, 
p r e c i p i t a t i o n  during t h e  previous 18  days, p r e c i p i t a t i o n  
on day before  t h e  overpass and maximum temperature on overpass 
day as  t h e  independent v a r i a b l e s ,  The a b i l i t y  t o  e s t ima te  
green biomass i n  increments of 250 t o  300 kg/ha wi th  a 95% 
p r o b a b i l i t y  from TV16 d a t a  and r e a d i l y  a v a i l a b l e  weather 
da ta  is indica ted .  
5) I t  was c l e a r l y  demonstrated t k a t  t h e  vs rna l  
advancement could be monitored through i t s  northward movement 
i n  t h e  Great P la ins .  Ground observat ions  and s a t e l l i t e  d a t a  
c o l l e c t e d  i n  1973 show t h a t  t h e  vernal  advancement progressed 
from t h e  most sou the r ly  s i t e s  through t h e  northernmost s i t e s  
according t o  an expected progress ion c a l c u l a t e d  from the  
g e n e r a l i z a t i o n  commonly known as Hopkins Biocl imat ic  Law. 
I t  i s  of  i n t e r e s t  t h a t  i n  1973, four  of  t e n  t e s t  s i t e s  were 
s i x  days o r  more l a t e r  than t h e  expected progress ion and two 
test s i t e s  were more than s i x  days e a r l y .  Spring developed 
as much a s  18-20 days from t h e  expected progression.  
Observations from s a t e l l i t e  d a t a  would be u s e f u l  
i n  aon i  t o r i n d  t h e  a c t u a l  advancement o f  s p r i n g  throughout 
t h i s  v a s t  region f o r  a p p l i c a t i o n  t o  crop surveys.  That i s ,  
t h e s e  d a t a  can support  phenological  crop models o r  be used 
i n  determining crop ca lendars ,  The s a t e l l i t e  da ta  can be 
used t o  e s t a b l i s h  crop ca lendars  based on phenological  
events  f o r  crop y i e l d  p red ic t ion .  
6) The success fu l  use o f  LANDSAT d a t a  f o r  measuring 
green biomass had l e d  t o  an approach f o r  a follow-on i n v e s t i -  
ga t ion  which w i l l  eva lua te  t h e  use o f  LANDSAT d a t a  t o  monitor 
rangeland feed condi t ions  on a regional  b a s i s .  A q u a s i -  
ope ra t iona l  system f o r  monitoring range readiness  and range 
feed condi t ion  i s  being developed us ing LANDSAT images, 
h i g h - f l i g h t  color- IR photography, s o i l  maps, r id topographic 
maps as  da ta  base information.  Af te r  t h e  v e g e t a t i o n / s o i l s  
resource has been mapped f o r  the  region,  t h e  TVI6 plus  
p r e c i p i t a t i o n  and temperature values w i l l  be appl ied  for 
q u a n t i t a t i v e  determination of vegeta t ion  condi t ions  a t  t h e  
time o f  s a t e l l i t e  overpass. Vegetation condi t ion  w i l l  be 
contour mapped over a region in  a manner s i m i l a r  t o  t h e  maps 
now compiled by the  S t a t i s t i c a l  Research Serv ice ,  ARS, from 
post card surveys. The potent ia l  a l s o  e x i s t s  for mapping 
distr ibut ion a f  grazing use and forage candition on a 
pasture by pasture bas i s .  These data w i l l  be disseminated 
t o  ranchers and range managemmt organizations for use in 
t h e i r  operations. 
TABLE I .  R~ VALUES FROM REGRESSION ANALYSES OF LANDSAT BAND 
RAT1 0 PARAMETERS AND SELECTED GROUND PARAMETERS FOR 
SELECTED G . P . C .  TEST S I T E S .  
** regress ion  s i g n i f i c a n t  a t  the 99% level o f  probab i l i ty  
* regress ion  s i g n i f i c a n t  a t  the 95% level o f  probabi l i ty  
t regress ion  s i g n i f i c a n t  a t  the 90% level o f  probabi l i ty  
Test S i t e  
Throckmorton 
Chickasha 
Woodward 
Hays 
Sand Hills 
Cottonwood 
Mandan 
A 
Green Biomass + 
Moisture Content Green Biomass 
TV I 
.8598*" 
.6799** 
. 6932t 
.5873 
.8370* 
.7455** 
.901 l* 
. 
TVI 
,7252"" 
.2150 
.6024* 
,5066"" 
.82 31"" 
.4264* 
.7105* 
I 
TVI 6 
.9117** 
.8280** 
.8509* 
.6028* 
.8293** 
.7431** 
.9531** 
TVI 6 
82254** 
.3170e 
.7749** 
.5410a* 
.800 3* * 
.5583** 
.6346* 
Transformed Vegetation 
Index 
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Monitoring vegetation conditions from LANDSAT for use in range management

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