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Remote sensing of vegetation cover change in islands of the Kerguelen archipelago

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Abstract

The plant communities in the Iles Kerguelen (South Indian Ocean) have been extensively modified by human activities, particularly through the deliberate release of rabbits, and the intentional or accidental introduction of several plant species. During the 1990 and 2000s, a decrease in precipitation resulted in a drastic reduction of some native plant species and in the increase in alien taxa. To monitor at a wide spatial scale the rapid changes of vegetation cover induced by summer droughts, we developed a method combining field data and satellite image analysis. A long-term field monitoring of plant communities was initiated on five small islands in 1992, and annually continued for over 15 years on a total of 161 line transects. Among these islands, the rabbit—which was the only introduced herbivore—was eradicated on three, remained on one control island, and had never been present on a second control island. We computed a linear model to link remote sensored vegetation indexes to plant cover deduced from line transects in numerous habitat types. After testing 14 vegetation indexes, we used a model based on the normalized difference vegetation index to precisely map the vegetation cover at several dates. A map of differences and spatial statistics indicated that vegetation cover, as a whole, decreased over the 15-year period. This study provides a reliable tool for long-term monitoring of the dynamics of plant cover in relation to climate change on the Iles Kerguelen.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Institut Polaire Français Paul Emile Victor (IPEV program 136) and by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Zone Atelier de Recherches sur l’Environnement Antarctique et Subantarctique). This paper is part of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Program EBA (Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica.). The SPOT data registered into 2002, 2009, and 2010 have been obtained with ISIS program (CNES). The authors thank M.W. Beck, I. Hogg, D. Piepenburg, B. Pisanu, M. Raynolds, and anonymous reviewers for providing constructive comments to improve and clarify the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR 6554 LETG CNRS—Université de Nantes, BP 81227, 44312, Nantes, France

    Marc Robin

  2. UMR 7204 CERSP Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle—CNRS—P6, 61 rue Buffon, CP 53, 75231, Paris, France

    Jean-Louis Chapuis

  3. UMR 6553 Ecobio CNRS—Université de Rennes 1, Station Biologique, 35380, Paimpont, France

    Marc Lebouvier

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  1. Marc Robin
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  2. Jean-Louis Chapuis
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Correspondence to Marc Robin.

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This article is an invited contribution on Global Tipping Points (Global Change and Antarctic Terrestrial Biodiversity) and part of the SCAR EBA programme. I. Hogg and D. Wall (Guest Editors).

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Robin, M., Chapuis, JL. & Lebouvier, M. Remote sensing of vegetation cover change in islands of the Kerguelen archipelago. Polar Biol 34, 1689–1700 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1069-z

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