Vegetation clutter is a limiting factor for bats that forage near ground level, and may determine the distribution of species and guilds. However, many studies that evaluated the effects of vegetation clutter on bats have used qualitative descriptions rather than direct measurements of vegetation density. Moreover, few studies have evaluated the effect of vegetation clutter on a regional scale....

Overgrazing is considered one of the key disturbance factors that results in alpine grassland degradation in Tibet. Grazing exclusion by fencing has been widely used as an approach to restore degraded grasslands in Tibet since 2004. Is the grazing exclusion management strategy effective for the vegetation restoration of degraded alpine grasslands? Three alpine grassland types were selected in T...

T e crop water stress index (CWSI), developed at the USDA-ARS [LS. Water Conservation Laboratory, Phoenix, Arizona, is a commonly used index for detection of plant stress based on the difference between foliage and air temperature. Application of CWSI at local and refzional scales has been hampered by the difficulty of measuring foliage temperature of partially vegetated fields. Most hand-held,...

The paper investigates the value of using distinct vegetation indices to quantify and characterize agricultural crop characteristics at different growth stages. Research was conducted on four crops (corn, soybean, wheat, and canola) over eight years grown under different tillage practices and nitrogen management practices that varied rate and timing. Six different vegetation indices were found ...

Obtaining measurements of the near-surface soil water content from passive microwave observations requires knowledge of the soil effective temperature, which is a function of the soil temperature and moisture profiles. Detailed information on these profiles is not available from airborne remote sensing, but the effective temperature can be estimated via thermal infrared observations of the land...

Leaf area index (LAI) and chlorophyll content, at leaf and canopy level, are important variables for agricultural applications because of their crucial role in photosynthesis and in plant functioning. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that LAI, leaf chlorophyll content (LCC), and canopy chlorophyll content (CCC) of a potato crop can be estimated by vegetation indices for the fir...

Plant biomass and nitrogen status are important factors to consider when making in-season crop management decisions. Traditional sampling and analysis are time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly. It is desirable to estimate these parameters nondestructively using remote sensing technology. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of using an active crop canopy sensor, GreenSe...

A large number of vegetation indices have been developed and widely applied in terrestrial ecosystem research in the recent decades. However, a certain limitation was observed while applying these indices in research in dry areas due to their low sensitivity to low vegetation cover. In this context, the objectives of this study are to develop a new vegetation index, namely, the Generalized Diff...

Grassland salinization causes considerable changes to soil and vegetation, which can lead to changes in soil organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N). These changes have complex causal relationships. A significant correlation between soil organic C and total N and any soil or vegetation property does not necessarily imply a significant direct effect of the property on soil organic C and total ...