Vegetation Associations Research Articles

Plant functional traits and groups in a Californian serpentine chaparral

AbstractWe studied a type of Californian ultramafic chaparral to determine functional groups which can help reduce the complexity of ecosystem management. The study was realized in McLaughlin Reserve, State of California, USA. We analysed the species of a serpentine plant association previously phytosociologically described in the area: Ceanotho albiflori‐Quercetum duratae for their functional traits and functional groups. Traits per species were measured building a trait database. We used Principal Component Analysis to identify the combination of functional traits with major weight and a neighbor‐joining clustering to define functional groups for this vegetation association. Our results indicated that the studied association is dominated by phanerophytes, with low degree of spinescence. Leaves were mainly malacophyllous with high degree of tomentosity, reduced size and a partial shedding of leaves was observed during summer. We considered six functional groups as the optimum number of clusters in a total of 18 species. The two first functional groups were composed of chamaephytes with brachyblasts and dolichoblasts with differences in the degree of tomentosity. The rest of the functional groups were composed of phanerophytes where the differences between them were based on traits in relation to the branches, leaf size and the horizontal development of the root system. The functional groups obtained show that this serpentine chaparral is composed of species with a wide range of functional traits. The study of other Mediterranean serpentine ecosystems in California and elsewhere could contribute to create new perspectives of functional ecology and help in the management of these valuable ecosystems.

Distribution Pattern, Conservation Status, and Associated Flora of the Genus Juniperus in Subalpine Pastures of the Kashmir Himalayas

Juniperus is an evergreen gymnosperm genus with a broad geographical distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Juniperus constitutes important vegetation associations in the Himalayan highlands that have significant ecological and socioeconomic importance. This research investigated the distribution pattern, community structure, and ecosystem services provided byJuniperus -dominated subalpine vegetation in the upper Neelum Valley, Pakistan. Vegetation attributes and geographical characteristics were systematically recorded at 4 selected sites. Two species of Juniperus, Juniperus communis L. and J. excelsa M. Bieb., were found to have average importance values of 23.4 and 20.02%, respectively. J. excelsa showed an average basal area of 0.30 m2 ha−1 and an average stem density of 46.95 ha−1; J. communis had an average basal area of 0.25 m2 ha−1 and an average stem density of 33.21 ha−1. A total of 56 Juniperus-associated plant species from 29 families were recorded, with Asteraceae as the dominant family, followed by Lamiaceae, Polygonaceae, Rosaceae, Caryophyllaceae, and Apiaceae. Predominant associated species included Thymus linearis, Aster falconeri, Rosa webbiana, Berberis lyceum, Anagallis arvensis, Rumex nepalensis, Poa alpina, Bistorta affinis, and Iris hookeriana. The calculated average values were Shannon's diversity, 3.07; Simpson's diversity, 0.94; species richness, 1.11; species evenness, 0.90; and maturity index, 45.90. Hemicryptophytes were the dominant lifeform in the area (57.14%), and microphylls (46.42%) were the dominant leaf type. Overgrazing and fuelwood cutting were identified as serious threats to both Juniperus species. Restoration of the degraded juniper stands through collective efforts by government and local communities and regular monitoring is recommended.

Trends in Cruciferous Vegetable Consumption and Associations with Breast Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study

BackgroundThe chemopreventive activities of cruciferous vegetables were recognized in the early 1990s, followed by a growth of evidence in various cancer models, including breast cancer. To our knowledge, no studies have examined whether consumption of cruciferous vegetables has changed accordingly, and what impact, if any, on breast cancer risk may have resulted. ObjectiveThe time trend in cruciferous vegetable intake was investigated between 1982 and 1998, and its associations with breast cancer risk were examined. MethodsIn a hospital-based case-control study in 1491 patients with breast cancer and 1482 controls, loess curves were constructed to describe the relation between median consumption of cruciferous vegetables and year of admission. ORs and 95% CIs were calculated with unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for age, year of admission, family income, body mass index, cigarette smoking, age at menarche, parity, age at first birth, family history of breast cancer, hormone replacement therapy, and total meat intake. ResultsConsumption patterns differed between cases and controls. A slow but steady increase in cruciferous vegetable intake was observed in the cases, although among controls, cruciferous vegetable consumption increased from 1982 to 1987, reached a plateau during 1988–1992, and then declined from 1993 to 1998. Accordingly, although an overall inverse association with breast cancer risk was observed for cruciferous vegetable intake (highest compared with lowest quartile—OR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.55, 0.86; P-trend = 0.0006), the inverse association tended to be more pronounced within more recent-year strata, with an OR of 0.52 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.83) for 1993–1998 compared with an OR of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.64, 1.23) for 1982–1987. ConclusionsThe consumption of cruciferous vegetables increased during the past 2 decades, showing different trends in cases and controls. The subtle but sustained increase in cruciferous vegetable intake reported by the cases could influence association studies with breast cancer risk.

Composition, structure and diversity of a mesquite in Pesquer\xeda (Northeastern Mexico)

BackgroundAlthough the mesquite (mesquital or mezquital in Spanish) is one of the representative ecosystems of the landscapes in the north of Mexico, it is also one of the least studied. This study evaluated the structure (horizontal and vertical) and diversity of a plant community of mesquite in Northeastern Mexico. Three plots of 1,600 m2 each were established. All trees and shrubs with a basal diameter (d0.10) ≥ 0.5 cm were recorded, and total height (h) and crown diameter (dcrown) were measured.ResultsThere were 8 families, 12 genera and 14 species. The genus presenting the most species was Acacia (three species). The most representative family was Fabaceae with seven species. The evaluated community presents a density of 375 N/ha and a crown area of 6,600 m2/ha. The species with the highest values on the Importance Value Index (IVI) were Prosopis glandulosa (15.95%), Acacia amentacea (14.50%), Havardia pallens (14.27%) and Acacia farnesiana (11.22%). These four species account for 55.94% of IVI. The value obtained from the Vertical Species Profile Index (A) was 3.03, with an Amax of 3.74 and an Arel of 81.15%, indicating high structural diversity in the high strata. The evaluated plant community had a Margalef Diversity Index value of DMg = 2.50 and a Shannon Index value of H′ = 2.28, values which are intermediate and considered to be common in the scrublands of Northeastern Mexico.Conclusions1) The studied community presents intermediate values that are considered as common in comparison to other arid and semi-arid vegetation associations of Northeastern Mexico. 2) The abundance curve of the species was well adjusted to the geometric model, and the distribution is associated with adverse environments such as semi-arid. 3) The family with greater importance for its contribution to the community is Fabaceae, while the genus with more species was Acacia. The research generated quantitative information of the plant community of a mesquite which is in a phase of mature ecological succession.

Association Between Indulgent Descriptions and Vegetable Consumption: Twisted Carrots and Dynamite Beets

This observational study examines the association of labeling vegetables with indulgent descriptions and overall vegetable consumption compared with labeling vegetables with basic or health-focused labels.

A classification of the geothermal vegetation of the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

ABSTRACTWe undertook stratified random sampling of vegetation, soil chemical fertility and subsurface soil temperature at 38 sites on 15 geothermal fields in the Taupō Volcanic Zone, central North Island, New Zealand, to develop a quantitative classification of geothermal vegetation types and to identify the main environmental drivers of vegetation composition. We implemented this with the fuzzy classification framework of noise clustering. Gradients in composition were derived using Detrended Correspondence Analysis ordination and related to soil physical and chemical parameters using correlation. Of 166 plant species recorded, only seven native species were present in > 20% of plots and only four adventive species in > 5% of plots. Subsurface soil temperatures ranged from ambient (7 °C) to near-boiling (98.5 °C). Classification identified 16 vegetation associations, almost all dominated by indigenous species and unique to geothermal fields. Subsurface soil temperature was the main factor controlling vegetation composition; soil chemistry was less important.

Relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of metabolic syndrome and its disorders in Korean women according to menopausal status.

The association between fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and risk of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) has not been elucidated fully, particularly by menopausal status. Method and Study Design: The study population was 2,999 women aged 40-64 years participating in the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The definition of MetS and its components was based on the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) for Koreans. Dietary data were assessed by a 24-hour recall. Fruit intake was inversely related only to the risk of high blood pressure (BP), but not MetS. Total vegetable consumption was inversely associated with the MetS risk, and when combined with fruits, the inverse association was observed even in its features of high triglycerides (TG) and low HDLcholesterol as well as MetS. Assessing women by menopausal status revealed that the inverse association with the MetS risk was found only in postmenopausal women having greater total vegetables and total FV intake (aOR=0.47, 95% CI=0.29-0.75, p-trend=0.003 and aOR=0.54, 95% CI=0.35-0.85, p-trend=0.007, respectively). Analysis regarding MetS features showed that while the inverse association of total vegetables or total FV intake was observed with high TG risk in postmenopausal women, fruits intake was inversely associated with high BP risk in premenopausal women (aOR=0.54, 95% CI=0.37-0.79, p-trend=0.004). Results suggest that while fruit intake was inversely associated with high BP in premenopausal women, greater dietary intake of vegetables and total FV may protect against the risk of MetS, particularly in postmenopausal women.

Imputing plant community classification from associated forest inventory and physiographic data in Minnesota, USA

We use conditions defining growing space (e.g., sum of all relevant biotic and abiotic factors) to systematically associate forested stands with likely native plant community (NPC) classifications. We develop and test imputation methodology to link ecological information with forest inventory records, i.e., to individual stands. These efforts will reduce the cost of obtaining needed ecological data with the detail and site specificity required for regional landscape-scale management. We employ associative techniques similar to those used by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources native plant sampling program to group sites sharing multiple conditions and plant species. However, the focus here is on linking plant community observations with conditions observed during routine forest stand inventory efforts. Unique associations of herbaceous plants are thought to occur in conjunction with different sets of trees on sites with appropriate soils, physiography, moisture, and disturbance histories. Following this hypothesis, NPC assignments based on field observation of herbaceous and woody plants are used as a source of training data to identify and categorize stands already characterized by routine forest inventory efforts. Additional soils, climate, and physiographic data have also been associated with NPC and forest inventory observations to provide information about shared characteristics influencing vegetation on a site. Imputed classifications provide 4 levels of information about ecological conditions on a stand; ecological system, floristic region, and moisture and nutrient availability. Results suggest that with 13 ecological systems, we might expect an average of 70%±10% of imputations to be correct at the system level. Imputation of floristic region, moisture index, and nutrient index ratings resulted in roughly 90% accuracy for each component. The compounding of small error rates in components of the NPC class code leads to a 47%±10% rate of success over failure in imputation of the class a stand might later be assigned based on relevé data. Relative correspondence of imputed classes to those assigned through observation (e.g., similarity to the true classification; precision) is roughly 87%. Essentially, this means that even when incorrect, imputed classes are very close to those assigned based on observation of physical and vegetative associations. This level of success will help bio-regional landscape management efforts through savings in NPC mapping and classification efforts, and the ecological understanding provided.

Monitoring mangrove biomass change in Vietnam using SPOT images and an object-based approach combined with machine learning algorithms

Mangrove forests are well-known for their provision of ecosystem services and capacity to reduce carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. Mapping and quantifying mangrove biomass is useful for the effective management of these forests and maximizing their ecosystem service performance. The objectives of this research were to model, map, and analyse the biomass change between 2000 and 2011 of mangrove forests in the Cangio region in Vietnam. SPOT 4 and 5 images were used in conjunction with object-based image analysis and machine learning algorithms. The study area included natural and planted mangroves of diverse species. After image preparation, three different mangrove associations were identified using two levels of image segmentation followed by a Support Vector Machine classifier and a range of spectral, texture and GIS information for classification. The overall classification accuracy for the 2000 and 2011 images were 77.1% and 82.9%, respectively. Random Forest regression algorithms were then used for modelling and mapping biomass. The model that integrated spectral, vegetation association type, texture, and vegetation indices obtained the highest accuracy (R2adj = 0.73). Among the different variables, vegetation association type was the most important variable identified by the Random Forest model. Based on the biomass maps generated from the Random Forest, total biomass in the Cangio mangrove forest increased by 820,136tons over this period, although this change varied between the three different mangrove associations.

Clarifying historical range to aid recovery of the Mexican wolf

ABSTRACTWe assessed historical, morphological, and genetic information on the range of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) to plan the recovery of this endangered subspecies. Early accounts of its range included the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico, and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and sometimes western Texas, USA. Such accounts are supported by ecological, physiographic, and morphological data. Recent suggestions to depict a more extensive northern periphery have been based primarily on a fragmented geographic sampling of genetic markers assumed to be diagnostic at subspecies level. Some of these genetic markers, found in extant Mexican wolves, reportedly also occur in a few individuals far to the north of the range defined in early accounts. Extending the historical range northward would necessitate drawing that line far north of transitions in wolf phenotype, breaks in vegetation associations, barriers to gene flow, and differences in prey base. We review morphologic, genetic, and ecological information to illustrate why such historical range extensions are not supported. The historical distribution of the Mexican wolf likely does not correspond to the detected distribution of certain molecular markers. The historical range of the Mexican wolf should not be altered through the identification of similar habitat in other locations, the distribution of inadequately sampled molecular markers, or by theoretical arguments about movement capacity. Rather, it should respect the original descriptions that were made when the animal was still present on the landscape, and which are concordant with ecological relationships, physiography, morphology, and the principles of population genetics. Clarifying the historical range of the Mexican wolf accurately will be foundational to developing a scientifically defensible recovery plan. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

Classification and ordination of understory vegetation using multivariate techniques in the Pinus wallichiana forests of Swat Valley, northern Pakistan.

An understory vegetation survey of the Pinus wallichiana-dominated temperate forests of Swat District was carried out to inspect the structure, composition and ecological associations of the forest vegetation. A quadrat method of sampling was used to record the floristic and phytosociological data necessary for the analysis using 300 quadrats of 10×10m each. Some vegetation parameters viz. frequency and density for trees (overstory vegetation) as well as for the understory vegetation were recorded. The results revealed that in total, 92 species belonging to 77 different genera and 45 families existed in the area. The largest families were Asteraceae, Rosaceae and Lamiaceae with 12, ten and nine species, respectively. Ward's agglomerative cluster analysis for tree species resulted in three floristically and ecologically distinct community types along different topographic and soil variables. Importance value indices (IVI) were also calculated for understory vegetation and were subjected to ordination techniques, i.e. canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). DCA bi-plots for stands show that most of the stands were scattered around the centre of the DCA bi-plot, identified by two slightly scattered clusters. DCA for species bi-plot clearly identified three clusters of species revealing three types of understory communities in the study area. Results of the CCA were somewhat different from the DCA showing the impact of environmental variables on the understory species. CCA results reveal that three environmental variables, i.e. altitude, slope and P (mg/kg), have a strong influence on distribution of stands and species. Impact of tree species on the understory vegetation was also tested by CCA which showed that four tree species, i.e. P. wallichiana A.B. Jackson, Juglans regia Linn., Quercus dilatata Lindl. ex Royle and Cedrus deodara (Roxb. ex Lamb.) G. Don, have strong influences on associated understory vegetation. It is therefore concluded that Swat District has various microclimatic zones with suitable environmental variables to support distinct flora.

African savanna elephants and their vegetation associations in the Cape Region, South Africa: Opal phytoliths from dental calculus on prehistoric, historic and reserve elephants

This study tests the association between opal phytoliths in dental calculus on modern, historic, and prehistoric specimens of Loxodonta africana (African savanna elephant) with their local and regional vegetation. The modern samples were obtained from dental remains from deceased animals at the Addo Elephant National Park (Eastern Cape Province) and the Pilanesberg National Park & Game Reserve (Northwest Province) in the Republic of South Africa. The historic and prehistoric specimens, presumed to be free-roaming elephants, were sampled from museum collections in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape Provinces. In addition to comparing phytolith assemblages in dental calculus with those of the main vegetation associations, this study assesses the phytolith assemblage differences between free-roaming and park elephants.The results show that: (1) the phytolith assemblages in dental calculus of park elephants show little variation among individual specimens and close resemblance to phytolith assemblages of soils inside their areas of confinement; (2) the free-roaming specimens have a much higher diversity of phytolith morphotypes than those in parks and reserves, exhibiting sometimes typical signatures of more than one biome; (3) free-roaming Cape elephants from fynbos areas have significant amounts of Restionaceae phytoliths, which suggests that grazing on restios in grass-poor fynbos types was important; (4) short saddles, typical of Chloridoideae grasses, are always the most abundant short-cell morphotypes in dental samples, even in areas where other grass subfamilies dominate, and (5) with some limitations, the study of phytoliths in herbivore dental calculus has a high, largely unexplored, potential in paleoecology and conservation ecology.

Hydrodynamical and hydrochemical groundwater controls on abiotic environmental gradients in a nature reserve in Flanders (Belgium)

The biological value of natural and protected areas like nature reserves is often reflected in the diversity and combination of different vegetation associations. In settings where the vegetation is strongly groundwater dependent, the specific interrelation between groundwater flow characteristics (hydrodynamics) and groundwater composition (hydrochemistry) is usually the most important factor for controlling the ecological value and occurrence of site-specific vegetation. Consequently, small-scale variations in ecological gradients within the site rather than its overall size are the key features that control the biodiversity of groundwater-dependent ecosystems. This is demonstrated for a small nature reserve called "Gulke Putten" in the northwest of Belgium which is only a few km 2 large, but shows an interesting variety in groundwater types the occurrence and genesis of which are due to local and highly seasonal flow conditions. As a result, the site has a high ecological value which is rare in this part of the country. This paper shows how multi-year daily water level measurements were used to quantify seasonal and inter-yearly variation in water levels and flow situations and how these are related to the condition in groundwater chemistry. Different hydrochemical facies are found, ranging from evaporated rainwater and waters influenced in varying degree by calcite dissolution, pyrite oxidation, cation exchange and some marine influence originating from the marine sediments of Tertiary age in the phreatic aquifer. This paper relates the variations in flow conditions and groundwater seepage intensity to the groundwater chemistry and helps to understand the origin of the abiotic ecological gradients that are related to the specific ecohydrological value of the site.

Смена аспектов растительности Национального парка «Хвалынский» и его охранной зоны

In article features of aspects’ change of National park’s Khvalynsky (Saratov region) vegetable communities are revealed by V. V. Alyokhin’s method of sequential descriptions. Five vegetable associations: 1) Stipeta pennatae –Bromopsisosa riparia – Pluriherbosa, 2) Stipeta capillatae – Festucosa valessiaca – Herbosa; 3) Stipeta pennatae – Festucosa valessiaca – Herbosa on sand; 4) Acer platanoides + Tilia cordata – Convallaria majalis; 5) Acer platanoides + Tilia cordata – Aegopodium podagraria are observed. In total 17 types of plants on blossoming rhythms are revealed. They are integrated in 5 cycles: spring, spring-summer, summer, summer-autumn and autumn. Plants of summer and late-spring blossoming types prevail in steppe phytocoenosis, plants of spring blossoming types dominate in forest cenosis. Aspects are formed by 23 species of grassy and shrub layer’ plants which belongs to such phytocoenotypes as forest, margin-forest, meadow-steppe, margin-forest-meadow, steppe. Information about the beginning, duration and end of blossoming of plants is used when arranging security, ecological education and tourism in the National Park.

Cariologic Study of the Plant Species on the South-Western Gutai Mountains Pasture

This paper presents karyology aspects of the diploid and polyploid species frequency on the mountain pastures in the southwestern Gutai Mountains as well as the calculation of the diploid index. The phytocoenosis of the five plant associations identified on pasture were studied: Violo declinatae-Nardetum, Simon 1966, Agrostietum stoloniferae, (Ujvárosi 1941) Burduja et al. 1956, Scirpetum sylvatici, Ralski 1931, Maloch 1935 em. Schwick 1944, Calthetum laetae, Krajina 1933, Campanulo abientinae-Vaccinietum myrtilli, (Buia et al. 1962) Boşcaiu 1971. Karyotypes were taken for all encountered vegetal species to achieve an accurate cytoaxonomic analysis. The frequency of polyploid species was found in the five vegetal associations that were identified and studied in karyology terms. The number of polyploids, comprised between 52.94-75%, is ahead of the diploids number comprised between 25-43,75%, in the vegetal associations phytocoenosis of the mountainous region. Diplo-polyploid plants and those with an unknown karyotype have lower participation. The calculated value of the diploid index decreases with the increasing of the altitude, with subunit values between 0.33 - 0.82. Diploid index (DI) indicates instable character of vegetal formations of above-mentioned area, reflecting completely station conditions of the grassland. The genetic structure of the phytocoenosis and vegetal associations studied seen from the perspective of karyotypes, indicates a drop in the dioloid index value with the increasing of the anthropo- zoogen factor (excessive grazing).

Syntaxonomic diversity of pasture ecosystems vegetation in south-east Ukraine

This work presents research data on pasture ecosystems vegetation in south-east Ukraine. This survey was carried out during 19982011 by route and semi-permanent methods. All botanical and geographical chorions of lower level within the territory of our region were explored. The representation of vegetation formations and associations were studied in following pasture steppe ecosystems: watershed ecosystems with differentiated black soil (43 formations, 425 associations), ravine-gully ecosystems with eroded black soil (81 formations, 750 associations), ravine-gully ecosystems with eroded to granite black soil (48 formations, 293 associations), ravine-gully ecosystems with eroded to limestone black soil (39 formations, 355 associations), above flood-plain terraced ecosystems with cretaceous soil (46 formations, 220 associations), above flood-plain terraced sandy ecosystems (24 formations, 140 associations). It is shown that syntaxonomic diversity of natural pasture ecosystems vegetation is dominantly represented by 1029 associations and 178 formations (37% and 33% from associations and formations of regional native vegetation). As far as steppe ecosystems are concerned, 920 associations and 147 formations are registered (33% and 27% from associations and formations of regional native vegetation). As for meadow ecosystems, we registered 424 associations and 80 formations (15% and 14% from native associations and formations, respectively). The highest syntaxonomic diversity is characteristic of ravine-gully ecosystems on eroded to loess black soil, the lowest diversity of all the steppe ecosystems is reported for above flood-plain terraced sandy steppes. Among meadows, vegetation of salt and marsh meadows has the lowest diversity.

Ecological species groups and interspecific association of vegetation in natural recovery process at Xiejiadian landslide after 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Wenchuan earthquake on 12 May 2008 triggered numerous landslides, which disturbed vast areas of vegetation in northwest Sichuan. However, based on our primary field investigation at Xiejiadian landslide in July 2009, we found an obvious increase of the number of plant species and then we made a hypothesis that, after earthquake, vegetation at this landslide might recover by itself. In this paper, we conduct a newly field investigation at Xiejiadian landslide during November 2014 to verify this hypothesis. We investigated plant species composition at total 56 sites (trees 4, shrubs 16 and herbs 36, respectively), and calculated the Schluter’s variance ratio, important values, x2test, association coefficient, Ochiai index, Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients, and Ecological species groups. Species sharply increased to 84 species belonging to 66 genera and 54 families, forming a complete life form containing trees, shrubs, herbs, and ground layers while only herbs detected in 2009. Moreover, an overall positive and moderately related interspecies association was detected for most of species pairs. Of total 84species,twenty five were identified as dominant speciesand could be divided into four positiveecological species groups. This study verified our proposed hypothesis of self-recovery of vegetation in landslide triggered by the earthquake, and found Alnus cremastogyne, Rhus chinensis, Litsea cubeba, Vitis piasezkii and Anemone vitifolia would play a constructive role during the continuing succession of vegetation at Xiejiadian landslide.

The association of outdoor vegetation with ADHD-related behavior among children living in an urban community

The association of outdoor vegetation with ADHD-related behavior among children living in an urban community

OBJECT-BASED CLASSIFICATION AND CHANGE DETECTION OF HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

Abstract. Topography and geology are factors to characterize the distribution of natural vegetation. Topographic contour is particularly influential on the living conditions of plants such as soil moisture, sunlight, and windiness. Vegetation associations having similar characteristics are present in locations having similar topographic conditions unless natural disturbances such as landslides and forest fires or artificial disturbances such as deforestation and man-made plantation bring about changes in such conditions. We developed a vegetation map of Japan using an object-based segmentation approach with topographic information (elevation, slope, slope direction) that is closely related to the distribution of vegetation. The results found that the object-based classification is more effective to produce a vegetation map than the pixel-based classification.

OBJECT-BASED CLASSIFICATION AND CHANGE DETECTION OF HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

Topography and geology are factors to characterize the distribution of natural vegetation. Topographic contour is particularly influential on the living conditions of plants such as soil moisture, sunlight, and windiness. Vegetation associations having similar characteristics are present in locations having similar topographic conditions unless natural disturbances such as landslides and forest fires or artificial disturbances such as deforestation and man-made plantation bring about changes in such conditions. We developed a vegetation map of Japan using an object-based segmentation approach with topographic information (elevation, slope, slope direction) that is closely related to the distribution of vegetation. The results found that the object-based classification is more effective to produce a vegetation map than the pixel-based classification.