Satellite Remote Sensing of Natural Medit. Veg.

Progress in Physical Geography 24,2 (2000) pp.
153178
Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation: a review within an ecological context
Maxim Shoshany
Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, Geography Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel 52900
Abstract: Mediterrranean regions are characterized by high spatiotemporal heterogeneity of vegetation patterns. Understanding the dynamic nature of these environments requires detailed data for wide regions regarding changes in their phyto-ecology, biomass and productivity. This article assesses the current status of satellite remote sensing in this field of application. Mapping the five main life-forms (physiognomic classes) in Mediterranean regions (forests, woodlands, scrub, dwarf shrubs and herbaceous growth) has attracted major attention in recent years. Methodologies developed for this purpose are based on the spectral, temporal and spatial (textural) information domains provided by satellite data. Wide regional vegetation mapping was achieved using phenological classification of vegetation indices derived mainly from NOAA AVHRR images. More detailed mapping was conducted with multispectral techniques in local areas using mainly Landsat TM images. Assessments of multispectral and multitemporal categories have shown limitations in their applicability over wide regions due mainly to the heterogeneity of Mediterranean regions. This heterogeneity cannot be regarded as a simple mixing of life-forms over large areas but, rather, the formation of transitional zones of varying mixtures resulting from disturbance and recovery cycles. Productivity and biomass monitoring has been found to be an active methodological development due to the introduction of new off-nadir viewing sensors in the visible and infrared spectral bands, and because of the development of methodologies for the retrieval of biophysical information from Synthetic Aperature Radar (SAR) data. Studies of ecosystem evolution using satellite data were conducted mainly in the fields of fire disturbance and desertification. Further progress in the remote sensing of Mediterranean vegetation ecology requires a better synergy of sensors, methods and ancillary data. Key words: biomass, disturbance, landscape fragmentation, life-forms mapping, Mediterranean vegetation, patchiness, remote sensing.
Arnold 2000
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Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation
Introduction
More than 300 million people live in regions of Mediterranean climate, occupying approximately 3% of the worlds continental areas and including parts of Asia, south and north Africa, southern Europe, North and South America (Chile) and Australia. A combination of dry and hot summers and humid and mild winters characterizes this young climate regime (Suc, 1984). Mediterranean regions are located in transition zones between humid and dry climates at the western parts of the continents, and they represent six subclimates: perarid, arid, semi-arid, subhumid, humid and perhumid. According to Naveh and Kutiel (1990: 259), . . . no other region of the world has endured so long and intensive period of disturbance [and an] unfortunate combination of a vulnerable environment and a history of human misuse of the land. Typical ecological patterns have been evolved under this combination of natural conditions and human interference, producing a distinctive floristic composition (Shmida, 1981; Blondel and Aronson, 1995) and characteristic vegetation morphologies (Raven, 1971). Understanding these patterns and their dynamics requires detailed information about the vegetation distribution of wide regions. Only a very few studies have assessed the wide regional trends of Mediterranean vegetation evolution. Based on data from traditional ecological surveys, Barbero et al. (1990) found an increase in forest areas by 2428 km2 per year in southern France between 1965 and 1976 while, in Tunisia, the highest decrease in forest areas was estimated to be 130 km2 per year for the same time period. According to Le Houerou (1990) and Blondel and Aronson (1995), forest area decreases by 2% a year in the Afro-Asiatic Mediterranean while, on the European side of the Mediterranean, it is increasing by 11.5% a year. Such spatiotemporal rates of changes threatens the existence of Mediterranean ecosystems in North Africa and represent a modification of the landscape in southern Europe. Understanding these processes and the prevention of further deterioration of Mediterranean ecosystems require the use of satellite remote sensing with interpretation methodologies that are adequate for ecological monitoring over wide regions. Research into the dynamics and heterogeneity of Mediterranean vegetation has traditionally been undertaken within three main branches of ecological studies (Di Castri, 1981; Perevolotsky et al., 1990): 1) Phytoecological studies concerned with detailed descriptions of plant communities and their classification; 2) Productivity and biomass studies. 3) Evolutionary research concerned with vegetation responses to changes in environmental conditions. The objectives of this article are, therefore, to assess the level of satellite remote-sensing utilization in these three schools of ecological research, the methods that have been used and the limitations of applying these methods at regional and global scales. In view of the high rates of ecological change over vast Mediterranean regions and the need to monitor these changes frequently, only methods which allow algorithmic interpretation with minimal human intervention are discussed here. Hence contributions that either address directly the theme of satellite remote sensing of Mediterranean vegetation or that include areas of Mediterranean vegetation in the processing of
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satellite data form the bulk of the literature reviewed in this article. Data from airborne scanners, field radiometry or theoretical modelling are included where there is lack of satellite data in view of the potential value of these methods for the development of satellite remote sensing. II Phytoecological classification and mapping of Mediterranean vegetation
Mapping vegetation in wide regions usually involves a physiognomic classification scheme based on the morphological, structural and seasonal periodicity properties of plant communities (Kuchler and Zonnenveld, 1988). The morphological similarity between plant associations of the five Mediterranean regions (Raven, 1971) is a key element in permitting the generalizations and comparisons that are essential to develop our understanding of these vulnerable ecosystems. Based on the UNESCO vegetation classification scheme (Kuchler and Zonnenveld, 1988) the following five major lifeforms (physiognomic) classes (Raunkiaer, 1934) will be treated here as representative of Mediterranean vegetation: 1) Closed forest: trees taller than 5 m with attached canopies. Represented by coniferous and deciduous forests. 2) Woodland: a relative tree cover higher than 40% and less than 80%. 3) Scrub or shrublands: evergreen woody shrubs 0.55 m tall, with sclerophyllous leaves. Represented by the maquis or garrigue in the Mediterranean basin, mattoral in Chile and Spain, chaparral in California, mallee in Australia and renosterveld in South Africa. 4) Dwarf shrubs: evergreen or deciduous woody shrubs less than 0.5 m tall. Represented by the Batha in Israel, phrygana in Greece and the coastal sage in California. 5) Herbaceous vegetation: annual graminiods or forbs that germinate at the beginning of the wet season and dry out at the end of this season. In principle, this classification scheme had been adopted in a number of regional, continental and global, remotely sensed mapping initiatives. Neilson and Marks (1994), for example, have implemented the scheme at a global scale with 0.5 latitude longitude resolution. Data sets of 1 1 km resolution were developed while utilizing this scheme both at a global scale (Townshend et al., 1991) and for the conterminous USA by Loveland et al. (1991) and Eidenshink (1992). Vegetation monitoring systems of a higher resolution than 30 30 m using a similar life-form classification are represented by the MRLC (Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics) conterminous USA project (Sohl et al., 1999) and by the IRICC (Interorganizational Resource Information Co-ordinating Council) in California (Schwind et al., 1999). The application of the lifeform system in such a wide range of scales represents both its importance for ecological monitoring and the information content provided by current satellite imagery. In comparing six global land-cover datasets IGBP DISCover (Belward, 1996), USGS Land Use/Land Cover (Anderson et al., 1976), Global Ecosystems (Olson and Watts, 1982), the Simple Biosphere Model (Sellers et al., 1986), the Simple Biosphere Model 2 (Sellers et al., 1996) and the BiosphereAtmosphere Transfer Scheme (Dickinson et al., 1986) Loveland and Brown (1999) have found agreement between forest area estimates
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while, in both shrubs and grasses, there are conflicts in the spatial extent and in the total areal extent. These results are not surprising, for two reasons: there is a missing class of dwarf shrubs, and there is a substantial amount of mixing classes of shrubs, dwarf shrubs and grasses (also with bare soil and rocks). In Mediterranean regions, dwarf shrubs are of major ecological importance as a result of their spatial extent and because they constitute more than 15% of the total flora of these regions (according to data provided by Blondel and Aronson (1995) for the Mediterranean basin). To address this mixing of the different life forms (as shown in Figure 1) requires an understanding of the scale dependency of the vegetation classes in general and those of the Mediterranean regions in particular. Basically there are two typologies: a combination of plants (with bare soil and rock covers) organized in a characteristic pattern which repeats itself continuously (micro-level heterogeneity and meso/macroscale homogeneity); or single plants and vegetation patches organized in a wide range of spatial patterns and densities (meso- and macroscale heterogeneity). The use of the dominant life-form as a representative of the mixture classes is most common in both cases, for example: wooded grasslands, closed and open shrublands (Friedl and Brodley, 1997), etc. Further characterization of mixing patterns requires higher resolutions than those provided by exiting satellite sensor systems. Despite these resolution limitations, the effect of this mixing is most pronounced in high spatial heterogeneity, as expressed in both summer and winter NDVI maps derived from
Pistacia palaestina NORTHERN ASPECT Sarcopoterium spinosum
Quercus calliprinos
Pistacia lentiscus
SOUTHERN ASPECT Cistus creticus Phillyrea latifolia
Figure 1 A typical pattern of Mediterranean vegetation, resulting from patches of different species composition and sizes, and from differences between north and south-facing slopes. Transitional patterns are represented by spatial changes in life form compositions along and across the slopes, which reflect different habitat conditions and responses to grazing and fire
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Landsat TM images of an area of a climatic gradient in central Israel that is representative of Mediterranean regions (Figure 2). One way to resolve the conflict between the need for a consistent, wide, regional vegetation classification scheme and the need to provide data that are representative of the local patterns is by combining information regarding biophysical properties within the database system. Such data are regarded as an essential component in the global and wide, regional land-cover data sets mentioned earlier. However, satellite remote sensing provides the only source for this data when the data are required for wide regions.
Location map
Mediterranean Sea Syria Israel
Egypt
Jordan
Winter Landsat TM image

450 mm annual rainfall
Summer Landsat TM image
Natural reserve (dense shrubland) Burnt shrublands
Open shrublands
Herbaceous growth
250 mm annual rainfall
Dwarf shrubs + herbaceous growth
Areas affected by overgrazing
Figure 2 NDVI maps from summer and winter Landsat TM images. The scene represents a region of a climatic gradient with a transition from shrublands in the north to dwarf shrub dominance in the south. Spatial variations in habitat conditions and the effects of disturbance can be detected at each scene separately and by comparing the two dates
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Life-form mapping with remote-sensing techniques had been attempted by analysing the satellites sensors signals in three information domains: spectral, temporal/phenological and spatial/textural. In the following sections I discuss and evaluate the methodologies that utilize these three information domains on the basis of results presented in remote-sensing contributions that are concerned with the mapping of Mediterranean vegetation. Satellite sensor systems that provide the main data source for wide regional vegetation monitoring are the Landsat Thematic Mapper, the Landsat Multi-Spectral Sensor, SPOT and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) (with visible and infrared spectral wavelength bands) and the ERS SAR and RADARSAT sensors (with radar wavelength bands) (a detailed description of these sensor systems is provided, for example, in Drury, 1994). 1 Mapping techniques in the spectral domain
The widespread use of satellite data for mapping vegetation suggests that the spectral channels provided by the existing sensor systems are adequate for differentiating between life-forms. Thematic Mapper (TM) spectral bands 3, 4, 5 and 7 were found by Grignetti et al. (1997) to be the most suitable for differentiating between vegetation types as a result of their chlorophyll absorption and mesophyll reflections at these channels. Multi-spectral classification methodologies (Jensen, 1986), which were applied on single-date images (mainly Landsat TM with 30 m resolution), allowed detection of the following life-forms: forest (oak and conifer), woodland, chaparral, grassland and lowdensity vegetation (i.e., Davis et al., 1990; White et al., 1995; Michele Basham May et al., 1997; Friedl and Brodley, 1997). Improvements in the classification accuracy of chaparral and woodland vegetation were achieved by applying segmentation techniques which delineate areas of homogeneous cover (Shandley et al., 1996) and by segmenting the images by GIS analysis using ancillary data (San Miguel-Ayanz and Biging, 1996). The added value provided by using band ratios and vegetation indices is exemplified in the study of Marchetti et al. (1995), where an infrared index (based on Landsat TM4 and TM5 channels) calculated from summer images of an area in northern Sardinia allowed the identification of five physiognomic-structural typologies (prairies, garrigue, sparse bushland, dense bushland and sclerophyllous woodlands). In view of the need to adjust specific combinations of spectral channels, band ratios and principal components for identifying specific vegetation forms, San Miguel-Ayanz and Biging (1996) developed an iterative classification approach that allowed the identification of 22 vegetation cover types, including forest, scrub, shrubs and grasses. The importance of selecting an optimal date for the application of the above-mentioned techniques is well discussed in most of these studies. The high seasonal variability of vegetation properties in Mediterranean climates and difficulties in acquiring images at optimal dates have lead to the use of multispectral classifications that are applied to combinations of multi-date images (Folly et al., 1996; Ribed and Lopez, 1995; Vinas and Baulies, 1995). A study representing further data integration (to include a merge between Landsat TM and SPOT, together with multitemporal TM data) was conducted by Grignetti et al. (1997) to identify eight main natural vegetation communities (five forest
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formations, maquis, pseudo-steppe and a mixed category of trees and scrub vegetation). The classification of two data sets (spring (leaves off) and late summer (leaves on)) (Sohl et al., 1999) enabled the widest regional mapping (still under accuracy assessments) for the conterminous USA using Landsat TM data. Limitations on applying spectral signatures of land-cover types over wide regions, as reported by Sohl et al. (1999), and the high seasonal variability of the spectral reflectance from the different vegetation types, have meant that most studies are site specific: only a few of these studies extended over more than 10% of a full Landsat scene (183 175 km). The low spatial resolution provided by existing satellite sensors relative to the magnitude of environmental heterogeneity has lead to the development and utilization of unmixing techniques. Pech et al. (1986) and Smith et al. (1990) have quantified proportional vegetation cover in wide arid areas using Landsat TM data. However, there are relatively few studies (discussed later in this section) that have utilized unmixing methods for differentiating between pixel fractions of different Mediterranean vegetation types from satellite images. There is, on the other hand, a substantial number of such studies using the AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) (with 224 wavelength bands between 0.4 and 2.5 m), which may allow differentiation between species belonging to the life-form categories. Mapping of vegetation abundance using the spectral mixing analysis (SMA) technique in the Ardeche Experimental Site (France) using AVIRIS data is reported in Hill et al. (1996). The method developed optimizes the end-member (elementary components of the spatial mixing) selection in an adaptive way, allowing modification of these end-members while scanning the image area. Results have been shown to be significantly better than those obtained with a fixed end-members set. Ustin et al. (1996) have developed a further strategy. In the first stage of this strategy, pixel fractions of four fixed endmembers were selected (green foliage, dry grass, soil and shade), and these fractions were found to facilitate the identification of grass, oak, chaparral and riparian vegetation classes for Stebbins Cold Canyon in central California. Roberts et al. (1993) used AVIRIS data from the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (Santa Cruz Mountains, California) to develop an unmixing technique for determining pixel fractions of forest, broadleaf evergreen woodland, dry grass and chaparral. The method was based on the analysis of unmixing residuals in SWIR (shortwave infra red) channels which are claimed to be highly sensitive to cellulose and lignin. In a study conducted in the Santa Monica Mountains (California) using AVIRIS data, Roberts et al. (1998) developed a new technique of multiple end-member spectral mixing. Using this technique they were able to distinguish between seven evergreen classes and nine drought deciduous classes of the chaparral vegetation typical of this region. The interesting fact is that these results were obtained with a spatial resolution of 17.4 m, which is equivalent to that available by satellite images. The possibility of successful application of these unmixing techniques using Landsat TM data, however, is considered doubtful in these studies. One possible way of overcoming the limitations due to the spectral resolution of available satellite sensors has been presented in the work of Maselli et al. (1996: 210). Maselli et al. used fuzzy membership grades (a posteriori probabilities of a pixel to be assigned to the classes considered) as indicators of cover proportions. This approach was assessed on degraded (moving window averaging) Landsat TM images of the Sieve River basin area in central Italy. Results have shown better separation between three forest classes (coniferous, beech and mixed deciduous) than hard classification
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methods, which impose one cover class per image pixel. In another approach, Shoshany and Svoray (1999) have developed a technique based on multidate analysis of spectral unmixing, and they found it possible to differentiate between subpixel lifeform components. As discussed earlier, the selection of images from adequate days is the key factor for successful differentiation between life-forms. Another possible avenue for overcoming the spectral resolution limitations is through analysing phenological changes. 2 Mapping techniques in the temporal domain
Global and wide regional vegetation mapping using multitemporal satellite data has been reported since the pioneer work of Justice et al. (1985) by, for example, Lloyd (1990), Eidenshink (1992), Benedetti et al. (1994), Reed et al. (1994), Loveland et al. (1995), Ehrlich and Lambin (1996) and Lobo et al. (1997). Most of these studies have been based on vegetation indices (VI) derived from NOAA AVHRR images at global and continental scales (thus including areas of Mediterranean vegetation). The common mapping principle is that there are inherent relationships between vegetation types, their environmental controlling factors and their seasonal VI changes. Seasonal variations in the sensors response are, to large extent, due to changes in the surface (vegetation) properties. However, attention must also be given to signal variations resulting from differences in the sensor viewing and sun illumination angles between acquisition dates. Spectral reflectance changes with changing viewing and illumination geometries are described by the surface BRDF (bidirectional reflectance distribution function). If the same viewing angle (nadir view, for example) is maintained between the different images, the BRDF can be regarded as providing a systematic expression of the surface properties. The amount of shadowing resulting from the change in the sun illumination angle is a function of the spatial arrangement of the surface elements and their structure (Shoshany, 1992; 1993) properties that are inherent surface features. The NOAA AVHRR sensor system allows for multiple viewing angles, and serious mistakes can be made in detecting surface properties if there is no consideration of the BRDF effects. In most of the existing global and continental land-cover mappings that had been produced from NOAA AVHRR images, some attention has been given to viewing direction effects. However, it can readily be appreciated that high off-nadir angles may, for example, increase the NDVI because of soil obstruction by plants, shrubs and trees, thus resulting in a change in the scene composition. Furthermore, as is discussed later in the section on biomass monitoring, differences in the directional reflectance are actually indicative of the vegetation layer structure. The principal multi-date methodologies for identifying vegetation forms utilize information regarding phenological parameterizations, such as average, integrated and difference between maximum and minimum VI values (see, for example, Justice et al., 1985; Reed et al., 1994). The classification of the raw seasonal VI variation and of combinations of phenological parameterizations was conducted using various techniques that resulted in different numbers of classes, such as the supervised binary decision tree which yielded 21 classes (Lloyd, 1990), principal components analysis which yielded 33 classes (Benedetti et al., 1994) and the hybrid decision tree classification (Friedl and Brodley, 1997). However, Lacaze et al. (1994) found from their work in southern France
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in three successive years using NOAA AVHRR data that, from such a high number of classes, only one represents a homogeneous life-form category (forests). The number of phenological categories which exceed the number of life-forms requires investigation. One explanation is that the phenological criterion is simply informative, allowing differentiation between patterns of vegetation heterogeneity. Other explanations concern the possibility that some of these variations originate as a result of climatic and data problems. Climatic differences have a spatiotemporal dimension, which requires that phenological classification methods must be applied with regional adjustments (Justice et al., 1985). In other words, different classes will be defined for the same vegetation patterns due to spatial climatic variations within a region of interest, either because they represent inherently different climatic zones or because they are a result of above or below-average precipitation or heat conditions prior to the images acquisition time (Reed et al., 1994; Ridgley and Aerts, 1996). The data problem concerns implications resulting, for example, from BRDF effects, since off-nadir viewing angles may form a wide range of incompatible scene compositions between acquisition dates. Ehrlich and Lambin (1996) found for north African land-cover mapping that a multi-year NDVI classification increases the stability of the results, on the one hand, but may on the other mask areas of permanent land-cover changes. Lambin and Ehrlich (1996) have developed a different approach for mapping vegetation across the African continent (including areas of Mediterranean climate in the north) based on relationships between vegetation indices and surface temperature. They have shown that a time series of NDVIs best discriminates between categories of partial vegetation cover (grasslands, savannas and open woodlands), while a time series of surface skin temperature best separates between areas of contiguous vegetation cover (i.e., forests and woodlands). The low spatial resolution of NOAA AVHRR-derived NDVI maps results in significant limitations in classifying consistent (worldwide) generalized ecosystems (such as life-forms) as a result of the heterogeneity of the natural vegetation of this region. The use of LANDSAT MSS, LANDSAT TM and SPOT multitemporal data for differentiating vegetation types in local regions has the potential of improving classification quality and consistency. Such an application is common mainly for agricultural crops but there are also a few examples in Mediterranean regions of the use of such data sets for differentiating natural vegetation. An attempt to integrate multitemporal AVHRR and Landsat TM NDVI data to produce a data set of Landsat TM spatial resolution and AVHRR temporal resolution was reported by Maselli et al., (1998). This study included coniferous forest, deciduous forest, pasture and crops in the Radicondoli Test Site (15 15 km2) located near Tuscany (Italy). The methodology is based on the determination of characteristic yearly NDVI profiles for each land-cover (vegetation) type using a regression between land-use class proportions (derived from multispectral classification) in AVHRR pixels and their monthly NDVI. Once these relationships are established they can be applied at TM resolution. A better correlation was found between the predicted NDVI profiles and the actual NDVI values recorded at the TM resolution. In view of the limitation on the identification of a full range of life-forms from multispectral data over wide regions, such an application might be restricted to small areas. In the work of Svoray (1996), six phyto-phenology classes were determined using a combination of supervised groupings of categories determined by an unsupervised classification with ISODATA (iterative self-organizing data analysis a clustering technique applied to five NDVI
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maps). Assessment of these classes indicated there is a considerable level of life-form heterogeneity even with a 30 30 m pixel size. From the six categories, three represent the dominance of shrublands, dwarf shrublands and herbaceous growth, while two represent transitional patterns. Radar sensitivity to the water content within the vegetation canopy (Ulaby, 1998) may provide important complementary information to the infrared sensitivity to photosynthetic activity and may help in stabilizing the classification of multitemporal data. However, at this stage the major efforts are directed into understanding the radar interaction with the vegetation mantle rather than addressing the complementarity between these data sources. Watt et al. (1999) have mapped vegetation categories for the North American continent using time series of backscattering data from the C band of the ERS-2 satellite, and the Ku band from the NASA Scatterometer. Moderate results have been reported when compared to the Matthews Global Vegetation, Land Use and Seasonal Albedo data set from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and to the University of Maryland vegetation map derived from AVHRR data (Watt et al., 1999). In view of the difficulties in achieving consistent, widely applicable phenological classes, Ridgley and Aerts (1996) suggested the use of multicriterion optimization techniques which may include spatial variation as a criteria influencing the multitemporal classifications. Such a possibility is of great interest when considering the highly textured images provided by radar sources. In the next section, the possibility of using such a criterion by itself to recognize life-forms is assessed. 3 Textural parameterizations and ecological patterns analysis
Limitations on the effectiveness of both multispectral and multitemporal data in identifying vegetation types for wide regions were discussed in the previous sections. As is as suggested by many of the studies reviewed here, these limitations are attributed to the high spatial heterogeneity of Mediterranean landscapes. Research concerning the potential information content in satellite images spatial variation is less developed relative to the spectral and temporal domains (Lacaze et al., 1994). Existing studies in this field might be divided into two approaches image texture parameterization and ecological patterns analysis although such a division might be somewhat artificial in view of some of the similarities in the mathematics of these approaches. According to Gagalowicz and De Ma (1985: 290) the term texture refers to the 2-D information created by the spatial organization of primitives (or basic patterns) that themselves have a random aspect. A texture is a hierarchical structure. . .. The individual trees, shrubs, plants and patches composed of these features (including bare rock and soil) are the primitives which form the landscape. The pixel size in current satellite remote-sensing systems exceeds the size of these primitives (in some cases with scale differences) and this may mask some of the features of Mediterranean vegetation patterns. Many of the image texture parameterization techniques are applied by analysing tone or colour variation within fixed-size neighbourhoods around each of the images pixels. Attempts to characterize mesoscale (SPOT and Landsat resolutions) and macroscale (AVHRR and METOSAT resolutions) patterns were based mainly on the variogram and fractal, which both parameterize the information variation by varying
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the distance between image points. The variogram is defined as a function that relates variance to spatial separation and provides a concise description of the scale and pattern of spatial variability and is described by the sill, range, nugget variance, structured variance and gradient (Curran and Atkinson, 1998: 62). It has been hypothesized in a few studies that different landscapes in general, and vegetation types in particular, have characteristic combinations of sill, nugget and range values (see, for example, Woodcock et al., 1988). Lacaze et al. (1994) have assessed landscape patterns, including garrigue and woodlands in a 50 km2 watershed north of Montpellier (France), using the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) data from the Explorer 1 satellite (500 m resolution) and SPOT multispectral data. Results for the HCMM data indicate differences between the two life-forms, but these were more related to temporal changes due to deciduous foliage growth. In the SPOT data there is no reference to differences between the life-forms, but it was found that the semivariogram shape of natural vegetation belonged to the unbounded type (without sill) as described by de Wijss model. It was proposed that there is an idealized geometric progression of spatial ranges of variables influencing remotely-sensed measurements from site to regional level (Lacaze et al., 1994: 2439). De Jong and Burrough (1995) have analysed the disadvantages of variograms and suggested the use of fractal dimension instead. Such a strategy was then applied for differentiating between badlands, rangelands, open garrigue, closed garrigue and maquis. The following average fractal dimension values were found for transects in these landscape units: an increase from 1.75 to 1.78 from open garrigue to closed garrigue (values similar to badlands); rangelands were characterized by a dimension of 1.81; and maquis were characterized by a value of 1.91. It was suggested that both TM and airborne GER data present limitations in terms of the inability to generalize these typical vegetation patterns. These results may raise a question regarding the hidden assumption made in applying fractal measurements that there is self-similarity between forms of different scales. Frohn and Menz (1996) have assessed the spatial separability of land-cover classes along a vertical transect in the Sierra Nevada using landscape pattern matrices calculated on the basis of remote-sensing data. They also reported poor separability between forest types and chaparral using the fractal dimension. Ricotta et al. (1998) have calculated the fractal dimension determined from Landsat TM images as a function of the perimeter and area of image objects when differentiating between prefire and post-fire conditions in the first year following the fire. In another study by Ricotta et al. (1996), a NDVI texture descriptor was used for analysing the human impact on forested landscapes in central Italy. The assessment of histograms of texture values obtained by calculating NDVI differences in a 3 3 moving window indicated that, although the forest has significantly lower texture values than the nonforest areas, there is still substantial overlap in the NDVI values or, in other words, similarities in the heterogeneity levels of these two distinct land-use types. Ecological patterns analysis concerns the assessment of two basic phenomenological components of the ecological system: ecotones and patches. An ecotone (according to Odum, 1997) is an area between ecosystems that interacts with those ecosystems but that has characteristics not found in those ecosystems. It is a zone of extremely high spatial heterogeneity (Johnson and Bonde, 1989) that is an inherent component of Mediterranean regions at various scales. Patches are areas of characteristic
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(homogeneous or structured) compositions of surface properties (vegetation, soil and rock) with distinct boundaries (ecotones) between them and neighbouring units. Ecological systems built of different life-forms can be hypothesized as having different characteristic patterns of ecotones and patches. Pattern analysis, therefore, aims to provide a phenomenological description of landscape patterns composed of distinct life-form combinations: the size distribution of patches and the landscape fragmentation which can be measured according to the relative size of ecotones or patches within a unit area. Johnson and Bonde (1989) have developed two strategies for quantifying the amount of ecotones within an area: by the postclassification operation of counting the number of boundary pixels; and by measuring the areas of high contrast between neighbouring NDVI values. The technique was applied for assessing boundaries between three life-forms (herbaceous, shrub and forest) in Minnesota. The work of Hlavka (1987) stresses the importance of the selection of edge detectors prior to the calculation of the edges density. Assessment of edge density texture measures in the Stockton area (central California) (which includes forest, grasslands and brush communities) was conducted using Airborne Thematic Mapper (ATM) data spatially aggregated for simulating both Landsat MSS and TM sensors. Good separation was reported between urban areas and forest, but there was no report of a differentiation between the other life-forms present in the study area. Shandley et al. (1996) have shown an increase in the identification of chaparral and woodland patches from Landsat TM images using the WoodcockHarward image segmentation technique with the inclusion of texture information. The question of how accurate the image objects edges are or, in other words, what they represent in the field was assessed by Abeyta and Franklin (1998) for boundaries between scrub communities in southern California. The accuracy of boundaries derived from image segmentation technique applied to four combinations. Landsat TM bands 3, 4 and 5, principal components analysis of TM data and texture images of these combinations were assessed with reference to boundaries delinated in the field. Results showed 10% omission errors and 50% commission errors, which indicates oversegmentation due to the fragmented nature of these environments. These differences are the result of the human ability to generalize landscape units and their boundaries in the field, while the image segmentation or edge detection techniques delineate relatively homogeneous patches. While patch generalization is most important in various applications (such as landscape mapping), algorithmic/systematic analysis of landscape fragmentation on the basis of homogeneous patches has some advantages in that it allows comparison between regions and the characterization of differences between life-forms. Frohn and Menz (1996) undertook calculations of landscape fragmentation using patch size and perimeter statistics. These measures were found to be more effective for separating between forest types and chaparral. Furthermore, they suggest that such a separation is stable upon aggregating the data from TM resolution to NOAA AVHRR resolution, but their land-cover classes included only two life-form categories. The exploitation of the full potential of image texture parameterizations and of ecological patterns analysis requires further methodological development and empirical assessment. The use of radar and SPOT panchromatic data may permit significant improvements in this field.
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III
Biomass and primary productivity studies
Remote sensing of biomass is important for understanding ecosystems functioning and for understanding the local, regional and worldwide exchange of energy, CO2, and mass between plant canopies and the atmosphere (Running et al., 1995: 40; Sellers et al., 1996). Despite its importance, there is much uncertainty regarding the biomass of vegetation types and its regional distribution. Direct measurements of biomass might be feasible for herbaceous plants and dwarf shrubs (very limited in the areal extent), but difficult for tall shrubs and trees. Estimates which appear in the literature indicate that life-forms differ substantially in their biomass, in some cases with almost scale difference: between 8 and 80 kg m2 for forests (Francis and Thornes, 1990); up to 15 kg m2 for woodlands (Marchetti et al., 1995), between 1.1 and 3.1 kg m2 for scrub; between 0.6 and 1.1 kg m2 for dwarf shrubs (Marchetti et al., 1995); and between 0.25 and 1.3 kg m-2 for desert grasslands (Whittaker and Niering, 1975). Biomass is accumulated through primary production, which is the amount of organic matter fixed (converted from solar energy) by autotrophs in a given area over a given period of time (Odum, 1997: 91). Differences in biomass between life-forms are the result of differences in the net primary production (NPP): the organic matter stored in a plant in excess of its respiratory needs (Odum, 1997: 91). The NPP depends on habitat conditions (Montieth, 1972), including the availability of soil, water, nutrients and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Photosynthetic activity as quantified by the FAPAR (fraction of PAR absorbed by the vegetation) has been estimated in a number of remote-sensing studies by the NDVI (see, for example, Myneni et al., 1992; White and Running, 1994). Gamon et al. (1995: 33) suggest, that in areas of homogenous, nonstressed vegetation, or for natural vegetation distributions at continental or global scales, the relationships between NDVI, canopy structure, photosynthetic fluxes, and NPP appear to be remarkably consistent. Since Mediterranean regions are rarely homogeneous and their vegetation suffers frequently from stress, there is a need to utilize biophysical parameterizations which can be inferred from remote-sensing data with higher spatiotemporal sensitivity. Leaves are an important part of the primary production and photosynthetic activity in different vegetation forms. The leaf area index (LAI) is a measure of leaf biomass and is defined as the total one sided surface area of leaves within the vegetation layer per unit area (Hill et al., 1996: 19). Leaf biomass differs substantially between life-forms: it varys from 7% for trees (according to estimates of Quercus ilex coppices by Floret et al., 1989), to 17% for shrubs (according to estimates from Greek mattoral made by Tsiourlis, 1992) and to almost 100% for herbaceous plants. Relatively few studies have assessed the relationships between the total biomass and the NDVI (see, for example, Pereira et al., 1994). However, relationships between LAI and NDVI were discussed in many studies including, for example, Spanner et al. (1990), de Jong (1994), Gamon et al. (1995), Bolle (1996) and Melia (1996). Most of these studies indicate saturation of the NDVI for LAI values higher than 2 but suggest that such relationships might be valid for LAI higher than 2 when modelled for a specific vegetation type. Kennedy (1989) has found a high correlation between NDVI values and biomass along a north to south rainfall gradient in the grazing lands of Tunisia. LAI maps of two dates (August and October 1990) for a part of the La Peyne watershed (southern France) were presented by Hill et al. (1996). This area is characterized by mainly dense forest
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(5 < LAI < 6) and includes also woodlands, shrublands and grasslands. NDVI maps derived from LANDSAT TM images were converted into LAI maps with 11 LAI grades between 0.5 and 5 using the Teixeira et al. (1995) equation (cited in Hill et al., 1996). Gracia-Haro et al. (1996) showed that the soil background colour may have a substantial effect on the NDVI and on its relationships with LAI values of between 0.5 and 1.5. Using unmixing techniques applied to simulated reflectance data at Landsat TM channels, they showed that vegetation fractions correlated better with LAI than with vegetation indices. This work represents the need for more detailed modelling of the spatial relationships between the vegetation layer structure and its radiation field. This is reflected by recent developments in radar and off-nadir viewing techniques for the retrieval of surface biophysical properties, which were coupled with the current or near-future availability of suitable satellite data. Three new satellite systems will provide images from a wide range of off-nadir viewing angles: the MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging SpectroRadiometer), the MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer), and the POLDER (POLarization and Directionality of the Earths Reflectance). Two types of LAI retrieval techniques under development are those involved with direct linking between BRDF parameterizations and LAI, and BRDF inversion methods. The first approach is exemplified by the study of Qin et al. (1999), who observed that LAI is almost linearly proportionally related to the shaded foliage fraction and who suggested that the multiple scattering fraction (MSF) can be a good estimate for the shaded fraction. The MSF is calculated by the ratio between radiation escaping the canopy structure after multiple scattering and the total reflectance in the near-infrared region. This is accomplished by actual BRDF measurements, which represent the total reflectance, and by estimation of the first-order scattering (the complementary component of the multiple scattering) from modelling the BRDF according to the canopy structure. Such a model was applied successfully with field measurements taken from konza prairie grass. The contrast between the shaded and unshaded canopy reflectance components can be inferred from the strength of the hotspot (backward reflectance into the illumination direction). Lacaze and Roujean (1999) have developed BRDF estimates based on the GHOST (G and HOt SpoT) model, which uses the G function as a descriptor of the vegetation structure from the microscale of needles and branches to the external architecture of the crown. The canopy biophysical parameters (including LAI) are then estimated by identifying angular domains which are predominantly influenced by each of these parameters. It was found that the LAI can be scaled according to the hotspot intensity. Such an approach was assessed with BRDF data derived from airborne POLDER measurements over coniferous forest. BRDF inversion techniques for deriving LAI and FAPAR information from off-nadir viewing data were reported by Bicheron et al. (1999) and Knyazikhin et al. (1999). In the work of Bicheron et al. (1999), which was assessed in areas including the Mediterranean basin, the inversion was conducted by utilizing artificial neural networks on the basis of modelling the radiation transfer within the canopy. LAI maps were then presented for several dates in March, April, May and June by applying this technique using offnadir viewing data from the POLDER instrument. Broad categories of LAI and bare surfaces have been produced and, as indicated by Bicheron et al., further development of the model is needed together with empirical assessments with field data. A weakness of these methods in deriving biomass from off-nadir reflectance data is that they are based on a simplified modelling of the relationships between the vegetation structure
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and its BRDF. Improving the applicability of these techniques using satellite data requires better understanding of these relationships, which must be based on a large volume of empirical data. The sensitivity of radar radiation to the volumetric properties and structure of vegetation (Ulaby, 1998) may allow some significant improvements in the retrieval of biomass from remote-sensing data (White, 1998). However, as discussed by White (1998) and Borgeaud and Saich (1999), most of the existing applications in this field are concerned with forests. Limitations on the use of high-frequency radar (C band, for example,) due to saturation of the backscattering with moderate biomass and the need to use L band and P band radars for that purpose are discussed by Borgeaud and Saich (1999). Despite these limitations and due to the availability of ERS-2 images with C band channels, Shoshany et al. (1998) and Svoray et al. (2000) have further assessed the possibility of biomass mapping using this channel. While the total biomass and LAI were found to have a relatively low correlation with the backscattering intensities, a measure of the leaves density was found to correlate well with the radar signal. Increased green biomass volumetric density (GVD) as determined (based upon biophysical descriptors which appear in the literature) for trees, scrub, dwarf shrubs and herbaceous growth was found to be highly correlated with the radar backscattering. Further methodological development and empirical assessment are required in this field, including radar wavelength bands with different polarizations and synergy with optical and infrared channels, before its full utilization for mapping biomass in Mediterranean environments. The potential of synergy between off-nadir viewing data from the visible and infrared spectrum and radar data in contributing to future developments in this field is high, since both data sources relate to the three-dimensional structure. The extra sensitivity of each of these sources to specific biophysical properties of the vegetation mantle due to physical differences in their radiation interaction is instrumental for such synergy. Differences in biomass between life-forms emphasize the importance of monitoring it in order to understand the status and functioning of ecosystems, especially where they are suffering disturbance or experiencing recovery. IV Evolutionary studies
Interpretation of patterns and dynamics of Mediterranean vegetation from satellite images has to be done within the context of the evolution of Mediterranean environments. The heterogeneity and dynamics of these environments imply that most of them do not represent a state of climax. Such climax is reached at the end of natural succession processes, where pioneer communities are replaced by unstable communities that follow one another in a prescribed sequence, to the climax vegetation which is considered stable (Kuchler and Zonnenveld, 1988: 73). The five life-form categories described earlier represent theoretical stages in that succession process, with closed forest as the ecosystem climax. Di Castri (1981) claims, on the other hand, that shrubland formations are the main climax form for most of the Mediterranean region as a result of humannatural interactions. Grazing, cultivating, wood-cutting and burning practices which continued through the last thousands of years have lead to man and nature coevolution (Naveh and Kutiel, 1990), where vegetation formation
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compositions and patterns were stabilized under certain land-use practices. Open woodlands, open shrublands and grasslands are examples of such coevolution. Disturbance (which is an inherent component of humannatural relationships) may be perceived, according to White and Pickett (1985: 4), as an act of a reset to the successional clock of the ecosystem without influencing the ultimate, predictable trajectory of that change. Where the ecosystem change is departing from the predictable trajectory of natural succession, it is undertaking perturbation. The sequential mapping of spatial life-form and biomass change using the remotesensing techniques described earlier may provide an adequate means for following successional processes, disturbance and perturbation in Mediterranean environments. Despite the fact that satellite images have been available on a regular basis for the last 25 years, little research has been undertaken into such processes since 1972 (the launch of the Landsat MSS). Alternatively, succession and disturbance can be studied by identifying the different successional stages in one image or a sequence of images representing one year. Marchetti et al. (1995), for example, have identified five vegetation typologies (prairies, garrigue, sparse bushland, dense bushland and sclerophyllous woodlands), which are transformed through the action of seven types of processes: degradation and regeneration, grazing and abandoning of pastureland, cropping and abandoning of agricultural lands, and fire. However, the dynamic nature of Mediterranean vegetation patterns and their spatial variation due to local differences in habitat conditions and due to climatic gradients result in the formation of various types of transition patterns. Life-form spatial heterogeneity is the representation of these transition patterns, which creates difficulties in their typology and multispectral or multitemporal classifications. In the work of Svoray et al. (1996) in the Judean Plateau, three shrubland densities were identified: low, medium and high, which represent the effects of controlled grazing pressures on the environment. These three stages are artificial divisions of a generalization of the different spatial compositions of dense shrub patches, dense herbaceous patches and bare rock patches. A considerable number of remote-sensing studies have been conducted in the field of ecological disturbance due to forest fires in the Mediterranean region (Kennedy and Karteris, 1994). The assessment of fire damages following a fire event using satellite data is widespread (see, for example, Kritikos et al., 1994). However, relatively few of the existing studies have used multitemporal data sets to delineate the burnt areas and to assess post-fire vegetation regrowth. Rokos and Argialas (1994) studied regeneration in an area of Aleppo pine forest using Landsat TM images of two and five years following a forest fire. Using a supervised classification technique, they mapped regeneration in high, medium and low-density classes. Viedma et al. (1997) have used nine Landsat images of the Alicante region (Spain) between 1984 and 1994 for determining regrowth rates in 10 training areas, representing two extreme vegetation types: sparse and dense shrublands in different environmental conditions. The results of this study have shown that knowledge regarding the pre-fire and habitat conditions is important for deriving meaningful regrowth data. Ribed and Lopez (1995) have studied regrowth following fires affecting xerophytic shrub vegetation in southwest Spain using Landsat TM images from two dates. The application of the principal components technique allowed the identification of vegetation recovery stages of 1, 3 and 5 years following the fire. However, there is a question regarding the actual vegetation changes that characterize each stage. Ricotta et
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al. (1998) have studied spatial changes due to fire disturbance from garrigue and woodland to annual and short-lived perennial species in northern Sardinia. The use of fractal dimension parameterization was found suitable mainly for differentiating between pre-fire and post-fire conditions in the first year following the fire. Two years after the fire, the differences were not significant, although vegetation patterns have not recovered and are substantially different from the pre-fire conditions (garrigue). Parallel to mapping post-fire damage, there have been studies concerned with evaluating forest fire risks (Kennedy and Karteris, 1994) using two typical, but not independent, approaches: the application of pre-fire indicators highly correlated with forest fire areas, and the derivation of physical properties related to fire potential, in some cases in conjunction with information regarding the distribution of fire initiators (see, for example, De Vliegher and Basigos, 1994; Kuntz and Karteris, 1994). Generalized mapping of forest fire potential has been conducted using NOAA-AVHRR data (see, for example, Lopez et al., 1991; Martin et al., 1994; Prosper-Laget et al., 1994; Gonzalez-Alonso et al., 1997). Illera et al. (1996), for example, found that high values of a danger indicator (which is the sum of differences between successive NDVI values derived from a time series of NOAA AVHRR images) correlated well with fires larger than 500 ha. In a study carried out with higher-resolution data provided by Landsat TM images, Maselli et al. (1996) have found that a spectral index, based on a canonical variate analysis applied to all the seven spectral bands, showed better correlation with fire frequencies (in Elba Island) than an index generated from environmental data and an index based on NDVI values. Fire potential mapping approaches based on physical properties mainly utilize three parameters: temperature, moisture content and fuel. The potential use of Landsat TM data for fuel mapping was investiated, for example, by Pereira et al. (1994) in Portugal, who modelled relationships between shrublands, biomass and NDVI. Water stress has been assessed in several ways. Martellacci et al. (1994) modelled water stress in relation to NDVI derived from NOAA AVHRR, while Vidal et al. (1994) investigated its relationships with differences between air and surface temperature, as this may be derived from the Landsat TM thermal channel, and with canopy moisture content estimated from the ERS SAR satellite. As also indicated by these authors, it is clear there is a need for the further development of remotely sensed biophysical indicators before one can achieve operational fire risk mapping from satellite data. The exact role of desertification processes in explaining the wide range of land-cover changes in Mediterranean regions is not known yet. Although a thorough review of desertification (see Yassoglou, 1996) is beyond the scope of this article, it is widely accepted that vegetation change is one of its most inherent characteristic (Francis and Thornes, 1990; Hill et al., 1995; Bolle, 1996). In essence, vegetation change due to desertification involves life-form change, which will be followed by a high decrease in primary production and biomass. LAI changes in areas undergoing desertification have been estimated in few representative Mediterranean sites within, for example, the DEMON project (Hill et al., 1996). In the area of Xilokastron (Greece), for example, differences in vegetation cover were analysed with reference to land degradation. It was found that a decrease of more than 20% fractional vegetation cover was mainly associated with the destruction of permanent shrublands and woodlands, which were subject to land degradation processes. De Jong (1994) has assessed the relationships between vegetation variables derived from Landsat TM of the Ardeche province
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(France) and erosion intensities as represented by the Universal Soil Loss Equation landcover and management factor (USLE-C). It was found that satellite image-driven vegetation indices have relatively low correlation with the soil loss factor. Folly et al. (1996) have developed a knowledge-based approach for mapping the USLE-C factor in the Madrid region when assessing erosion. Multispectral classification of multitemporal Landsat TM data was found instrumental for this purpose, allowing separation between cover types linked to different erosion risk levels. In another study along a climatic gradient, between the Judean Desert and the more humid areas of the Judean Mountains (Israel), Shoshany et al. (1995) have found high correlation between soil types and patterns of seasonal vegetation cover changes determined from Landsat TM images. A comparison between vegetation cover in two successive years, representing extremely low (1991) and extremely high (1992) precipitation levels, provided important information regarding the width and position of the threshold zone between the arid and the humid areas (Kutiel et al., 1995; Shoshany et al., 1995; 1996). In this way, satellite-driven vegetation data may allow assessment of the progress or retreat of desertification processes. Remote-sensing applications in evolutionary studies have attracted considerable attention but, as discussed earlier, the utilization of time series for that purpose is still limited. Detection of disturbance and recovery processes to a large extent depends on the ability to separate between significant and insignificant temporal changes. As these changes in biophysical properties and their remote-sensing indicators are less sensitive to abrupt fluctuations in habitat conditions, a more reliable signature of change can be determined. On the other hand, the less sensitive properties tend to show slower response rates, which then require longer monitoring time frames. Thus, for example, the combination of biophysical properties related to levels of photosynthetic activity variations with their indicators in the visible and near infrared wavelength bands (which are most sensitive to short-term climatic fluctuations) provides less stable signatures of change. Biomass on the other hand is less sensitive to short term climatic variations and most indicative of successional processes. Further progress in evolutionary studies depends, to large extent, on advances in biomass monitoring techniques and their change detection. V Synthesis and conclusions
Mediterranean vegetation has been the subject of active remote-sensing research in recent years. This is reflected in the number of scientific articles published in this field during the last few years, and in the role of remote sensing in Mediterranean environmental projects, such as CORINE (CORINE, 1993), DEMON (Hill et al., 1996), MODEM, the MRLC (Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics) conterminous USA project (Sohl et al., 1999) and the IRICC (Inter-organizational Resource Information Co-ordinating Council) project in California (Schwind et al., 1999). Most of this work was conducted in the Mediterranean basin and in California regions that represent the widest spatial extent of Mediterranean climates and vegetation types. NOAA AVHRR is a major remote-sensing source used for wide regional vegetation mapping, based on phenological techniques which represent the correlation between vegetation types and their seasonal climatic changes. The results provided generalized views of the vegetation patterns, which correspond to mapping at scales equal to
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and lower than 1:250 000. In many ecological studies, more detailed spatial information is required, such as is provided by Landsat, SPOT and ERS sensors, as a result of the fragmented and heterogeneous nature of Mediterranean landscapes. Most of the studies at the mesoscale utilized Landsat images. However, they covered relatively small areas: except for the MRLC conterminous USA project (which is still under evaluation and methodological development), only a few extended over more than 10% of a full Landsat scene (185 175 km). From the phytoecological point of view (concerning mapping of the different life forms) it is possible to suggest that forests and grasslands (herbaceous growth) received most of the attention, while dwarf shrubs attracted relatively minor attention in remotesensing studies, despite their importance in the ecology of the Mediterranean environment. The spread of dwarf shrubs in general, and of Sacroproterium spinosum in particular is an example of a widespread ecological change in Mediterranean regions which has not yet been addressed in satellite remote-sensing studies. Another important feature of Mediterranean vegetation which influences the recognition and mapping of vegetation types is its life-form spatial heterogeneity, which results from recovery and disturbance cycles. From the mapping point of view, methodologies have to be clear about two aspects of this heterogeneity: it is not a simple mixing problem but is characterized by transitional patterns of various life-form compositions representing successional stages; and it relates to landscape fragmentation into various patch types and ecotones. The existing spatial resolution of satellite data of 10 30 m allows a significant insight into the structure and distribution of patches. However, at this scale patches can be rarely regarded as homogenous a typology of heterogeneous patches is needed, therefore, from the informative aspect. It is interesting to note that such an attitude corresponds to the needs presented by the International Geosphere Biosphere Program (IGBP) in their approach (Shugart and Smith, 1996: 132) to vegetation change modelling: This approach would require a generalized patch model which is able to simulate the dynamics of all ecosystem types. Developments in image processing techniques facilitating generalized patch delineation and transitional patterns analysis are instrumental for a better ecological understanding of wide regional changes. Furthermore, it may allow a link between these patterns and their phenological change, which will then give phenomenological significance to the various classes formed by multitemporal classification of vegetation indices data. The addition of data from off-nadir viewing and radar sensors may allow insight into the three-dimensional structure of the patches and their dynamics. Methodological and applicative synergy of biophysical retrievals with pattern analysis is an important step in achieving both better mapping of vegetation communities and a better understanding of primary production with respect to changes in ecosystems functioning. A full exploitation of the potential of remote sensing in contributing to the understanding and management of Mediterranean ecosystems at the wide regional scale requires a better synergy of methods and data sources in the following ways. Between: data sources, such as SPOT, Landsat, ERS, NOAA AVHRR, MODIS and POLDER; off-nadir, nadir and radar data, with regard to the three-dimensional structure of the vegetation mantle and its radiative transfer properties; multispectral, multitemporal and textural methods; and
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the remotely sensed data and data existing within geographical information systems, such as topography (height, slope and aspect), lithology, precipitation and land use. Knowledge-based algorithms which allow application of these different forms of synergy according to the context of interpretation are instrumental in increasing the spatial extent and quality of environmental information derived from satellite images for Mediterranean regions. Such a task requires consideration of the presence, and important ecological role of, transitional patterns in Mediterranean environments. The future contribution of Mediterranean remote sensing to general vegetation remote sensing could be central in the field of methodologies for detecting and characterizing these complex patterns. Such a methodological contribution would be of value for other types of transitional patterns and for other situations of complex environmental compositions. Furthermore, this complexity of interpretation might be increased with the introduction of new satellites of much higher spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions. Acknowledgements My students, Tal Svoray, Orly Haimy and Yafit Cohen, are thanked for their continuous help in searching for relevant material for this study. References
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Progress in Physical Geography 24,2 (2000) pp.

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

SOUTHERN ASPECT Cistus creticus Phillyrea latifolia

Winter Landsat TM image

Summer Landsat TM image

Natural reserve (dense shrubland) Burnt shrublands

250 mm annual rainfall

Dwarf shrubs + herbaceous growth

Areas affected by overgrazing

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Biomass and primary productivity studies

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

Satellite remote sensing of natural Mediterranean vegetation

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