Abstract
Ecosystem functional types (EFTs) are the patches of land surface showing similar in carbon dynamics. EFTs are not defined by the structure and composition of vegetation and represent the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem functions. Identifying EFTs based on low-resolution satellite remote sensing data cannot satisfy the needs of fine-scale characterization of regional ecosystem functional patterns. Here, taking Zhenlai County, Northeast China as an example, the heterogeneity in ecosystem functions was characterized by identifying EFTs from Sentinel-2 time series data using ISODATA algorithm. Ecosystem functional attributes derived from dynamics of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), and canopy water content (CWC) in the growing season were calculated. The correspondence analysis (CA) method was used to reveal relationships between the EFTs and land cover types. Our results showed that the nine selected remotely sensed variables indicating carbon and water flux of the regional ecosystems could be adopted in ecosystem functions classification. The obtained EFTs based on Sentinel-2 images reflected the internal structure of carbon balance well and the distribution pattern of ecosystem functional diversity a fine scale. This study helps to understand the functional heterogeneity pattern of temperate terrestrial ecosystems.
Highlights
Satellite remote sensing technology provides an effective means for terrestrial ecosystem assessment and monitoring at the regional to global scale
3.1 Analysis of regional ecosystem functional types in Zhenlai County, Northeast China From regional to global scales, EFTs approach was an alternative to quantify ecological functional diversity based on attributes related to processes
The ecosystem functional classification was performed based on normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) and canopy water content (CWC) attributes derived from Sentinel-2 images
Summary
Satellite remote sensing technology provides an effective means for terrestrial ecosystem assessment and monitoring at the regional to global scale. EFTs have been used to characterize the spatial patterns of ecosystem functioning at the global and regional scales[2,3,5,6]. Previous studies have been conducted with low spatial resolution satellite data and cannot reveal ecosystem function heterogeneity at finer scales. In this paper, taking Zhenlai County, Northeast China as an example, ecosystem functional types at a fine scale was characterized from Sentinel-2 time series data. The main objectives are to (1) select a series of parameters that can reflect the ecosystem functioning based on Sentinel-2 time series data; (2) identify EFTs in the Zhenlai County using ISODATA algorithm and perform the corresponding analysis of EFTs and ecosystem structure types. The study helps the exploration of more effective of revealing the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem functions, but provides important reference for the protection of regional ecosystem diversity
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