Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.

Desert vegetation plays significant roles in securing the ecological integrity of oasis ecosystems in western China. Timely monitoring of photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic desert vegetation cover is necessary to guide management practices on land desertification and research into the mechanisms driv...

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Main Authors: Cuicui Ji, Yonghong Jia, Zhihai Gao, Huaidong Wei, Xiaosong Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5730155?pdf=render
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author Cuicui Ji
Yonghong Jia
Zhihai Gao
Huaidong Wei
Xiaosong Li
author_facet Cuicui Ji
Yonghong Jia
Zhihai Gao
Huaidong Wei
Xiaosong Li
author_sort Cuicui Ji
collection DOAJ
description Desert vegetation plays significant roles in securing the ecological integrity of oasis ecosystems in western China. Timely monitoring of photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic desert vegetation cover is necessary to guide management practices on land desertification and research into the mechanisms driving vegetation recession. In this study, nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates are investigated through comparing the performance of linear and nonlinear spectral mixture models with different endmembers applied to field spectral measurements of two types of typical desert vegetation, namely, Nitraria shrubs and Haloxylon. The main results were as follows. (1) The correct selection of endmembers is important for improving the accuracy of vegetation cover estimates, and in particular, shadow endmembers cannot be neglected. (2) For both the Nitraria shrubs and Haloxylon, the Kernel-based Nonlinear Spectral Mixture Model (KNSMM) with nonlinear parameters was the best unmixing model. In consideration of the computational complexity and accuracy requirements, the Linear Spectral Mixture Model (LSMM) could be adopted for Nitraria shrubs plots, but this will result in significant errors for the Haloxylon plots since the nonlinear spectral mixture effects were more obvious for this vegetation type. (3) The vegetation canopy structure (planophile or erectophile) determines the strength of the nonlinear spectral mixture effects. Therefore, no matter for Nitraria shrubs or Haloxylon, the non-linear spectral mixing effects between the photosynthetic / non-photosynthetic vegetation and the bare soil do exist, and its strength is dependent on the three-dimensional structure of the vegetation canopy. The choice of linear or nonlinear spectral mixture models is up to the consideration of computational complexity and the accuracy requirement.
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spelling doaj.art-acbe086bec02416a8575a515354968c82022-12-22T02:31:30ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-011212e018929210.1371/journal.pone.0189292Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.Cuicui JiYonghong JiaZhihai GaoHuaidong WeiXiaosong LiDesert vegetation plays significant roles in securing the ecological integrity of oasis ecosystems in western China. Timely monitoring of photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic desert vegetation cover is necessary to guide management practices on land desertification and research into the mechanisms driving vegetation recession. In this study, nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates are investigated through comparing the performance of linear and nonlinear spectral mixture models with different endmembers applied to field spectral measurements of two types of typical desert vegetation, namely, Nitraria shrubs and Haloxylon. The main results were as follows. (1) The correct selection of endmembers is important for improving the accuracy of vegetation cover estimates, and in particular, shadow endmembers cannot be neglected. (2) For both the Nitraria shrubs and Haloxylon, the Kernel-based Nonlinear Spectral Mixture Model (KNSMM) with nonlinear parameters was the best unmixing model. In consideration of the computational complexity and accuracy requirements, the Linear Spectral Mixture Model (LSMM) could be adopted for Nitraria shrubs plots, but this will result in significant errors for the Haloxylon plots since the nonlinear spectral mixture effects were more obvious for this vegetation type. (3) The vegetation canopy structure (planophile or erectophile) determines the strength of the nonlinear spectral mixture effects. Therefore, no matter for Nitraria shrubs or Haloxylon, the non-linear spectral mixing effects between the photosynthetic / non-photosynthetic vegetation and the bare soil do exist, and its strength is dependent on the three-dimensional structure of the vegetation canopy. The choice of linear or nonlinear spectral mixture models is up to the consideration of computational complexity and the accuracy requirement.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5730155?pdf=render
spellingShingle Cuicui Ji
Yonghong Jia
Zhihai Gao
Huaidong Wei
Xiaosong Li
Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.
PLoS ONE
title Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.
title_full Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.
title_fullStr Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.
title_full_unstemmed Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.
title_short Nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic/non-photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western China.
title_sort nonlinear spectral mixture effects for photosynthetic non photosynthetic vegetation cover estimates of typical desert vegetation in western china
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5730155?pdf=render
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