Investigating the spectral and ecological characteristics of grassland communities across an ecological gradient of the Inner Mongolian grasslands with in situ hyperspectral data

Abstract

Grassland degradation is serious in the Mongolian plateau, especially in Inner Mongolia, China. Accurate monitoring of grassland types and qualities is increasingly important for the purposes of grassland conservation and restoration. Using in situ hyperspectral reflectance data and ground-based ecological measurements, we explored the potential for large-scale monitoring grassland communities using imaging spectroradiometers. We compared the spectral reflectance of the major types of grasslands and field plots with/without livestock grazing. We also did statistical analysis about the relationship between hyperspectral indices and aboveground biomass (AGB) of the surveyed grassland communities. The results showed that: (1) the dominant plant species varied across meadow, typical, and desert steppe, and they also varied between fenced and grazed plots; (2) in situ hyperspectral data are useful for differentiating grassland communities of meadow, typical, and desert steppe and grassland communities with and without livestock grazing; and (3) the prediction accuracies of vegetation indices for AGB decreased from desert to typical and meadow steppe, and the results were contrary for the prediction accuracies of red edge inflection point (REIP). REIP may not be suitable for estimating AGB of the low-density grassland communities. The above results implied that care must be taken while using statistical models to link spectral and ecological measurements in large geographical scales since there is lack of portability over different types of grassland communities. This study provides foundations for future large-scale efforts of monitoring grassland communities in Inner Mongolia using imaging spectroradiometers.