Date of Award
4-2018
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Geography
First Advisor
Dr. Charles Emerson
Second Advisor
Lisa DeChano-Cook, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Chansheng He, Ph.D.
Keywords
Phragmites, phenology, spectral, spectroradiometer, National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Michigan Great Lakes wetlands are among Michigan’s most significant bio-diversified ecosystems. One threat to this ecosystem is invasive species. Phragmites australis is one of these invasive species creating problems in the wetlands. Identifying Phragmites through satellite imagery creates difficulties in discriminating Phragmites from other vegetation accurately. This study used an ASD HandHeld 2 field spectroradiometer to identify the phenological spectral properties between Phragmites and cattails. The Euclidean distance was analyzed the spectral curves from the spectroradiometer to determine the separability between Phragmites and cattails. The largest Euclidean distance determined the best month to separate the spectral signatures of Phragmites and cattails. The spectroradiometer hyperspectral data for Phragmites and cattails were averaged to coincide with National Agriculture Imagery Program imagery bandwidths. Applying Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to the averaged bandwidths for Phragmites and cattails, the value for each month was analyzed using Euclidean distance. Results showed that the best time of the year to distinguish Phragmites from cattails was in the fall.
Recommended Citation
Benedict, Trenton, "Spectral Discrimination of Phragmites Australis at Different Phenological Stages in Saginaw Bay, Michigan" (2018). Masters Theses. 3430.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3430