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Spectral Reflectance and Vegetation Index Changes in Deciduous Forest Foliage Following Tree Removal: Potential for Deforestation Monitoring

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Journal of Applied Spectroscopy Aims and scope

It is important to detect and quantify deforestation to guide strategic decisions regarding environment, socioeconomic development, and climate change. In the present study, we conducted a field experiment to examine spectral reflectance and vegetation index changes in poplar and locust tree foliage with different leaf area indices over the course of three sunny days, following tree removal from the canopy. The spectral reflectance of foliage from harvested trees was measured using an ASD FieldSpec Prospectroradiometer; synchronous meteorological data were also obtained. We found that reflectance in short-wave infrared and red-edge reflectance was more time sensitive after tree removal than reflectance in other spectral regions, and that the normalized difference water index (NDWI) and the red-edge chlorophyll index (CIRE) were the preferred indicators of these changes from several indices evaluated. Synthesized meteorological environments were found to influence water and chlorophyll contents after tree removal, and this subsequently changed the spectral canopy reflectance. Our results indicate the potential for such tree removal to be detected with NDWI or CIRE from the second day of a deforestation event.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100094, China

    D. Peng

  2. Chongqing Institute of Surveying and Planning for Land Resources and Housing, Chongqing, 400020, China

    Y. Hu

  3. Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Z. Li

Authors
  1. D. Peng
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  2. Y. Hu
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  3. Z. Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Peng.

Additional information

Abstract of article is published in Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 83, No. 2, p. 336, March–April, 2015

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Peng, D., Hu, Y. & Li, Z. Spectral Reflectance and Vegetation Index Changes in Deciduous Forest Foliage Following Tree Removal: Potential for Deforestation Monitoring. J Appl Spectrosc 83, 330–337 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10812-016-0291-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10812-016-0291-4

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