Assessment of Regional Variations in Biomass Production Using Satellite Image Analysis between 1992 and 2004

Abstract

AbstractAs a consequence of the increasing aridity experienced in Hungary in the past decades, any future spatial planning decisions should consider the threat of an arid environment. For identifying sensitive and endangered areas, suitable methods should be developed. These could help those responsible for decision making in providing quick and suitable actions in planning. Through the investigation of vegetation, regional scale variations in the landscape along with the responses of forests to climatic changes can be easily detected. Our primary aim was the evaluation of the natural water supply on the Danube Tisza Interfluve by studying the forests, meadows and pastures of the area in the summers of 1992 and 2004. We investigated with the help of remote sensing the short‐term response of vegetation to the altered environmental conditions. According to the spatial and temporal analyses of vegetation indices (NDVI) based on AVHRR and MODIS images, a considerable decrease in the activity of vegetation can be observed throughout the entire vegetation period. Due to the suspected climatic changes, 33% of the studied vegetation might be endangered.