Satellite Vegetation Analysis and Bird Biodiversity
Berger C, Carlsen W, Green T. 2023. Satellite Vegetation Analysis and Bird Biodiversity. National Park Service, Joshua Tree National Park
This brief summarizes a study conducted by Tyler Green that assessed relationships between the Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) metric derived from satellite data and seven years of bird population data collected at Joshua Tree National Park. The bird field data are just one measure in a long-term climate change monitoring project called "Managing Species in Transition Zones", a collaborative effort of the park's Science and Stewardship Division and the University of California, Riverside. Biologists monitor plants, reptiles and amphibians, and birds on 27 nine-hectare plots within the park, representing Sonoran desert, Mojave desert, and transition zone habitats at a range of elevations. Data are collected on bird population size and diversity in the spring during breeding season. Tyler Green found a statistically significant linear relationship between NDVI values and bird diversity at Joshua Tree National Park. Conducting field-based monitoring is time-consuming and expensive, and the park's landscape is vast. Remote sensing of biodiversity is cost-effective, and viewed alongside bird population data, NDVI may be a relatively fast and cost-effective way to expand monitoring efforts and to inform work that impacts biodiversity, such as fire management and invasive species removal.
- Type
- Resource Brief
- Authors
- Berger, Cynthia; Carlsen, William; Green, Tyler
- Date of Issue
- 2023-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Joshua Tree National Park
- Units
- JOTR
- Keywords
- biodiversity, bird diversity, Birds, Mojave desert, monitoring, monitoring species in transition zones, NDVI, Normalized Differential Vegetation Index, plant productivity, remote-sensing, satellite vegetation analysis, Sonoran desert, species richness, transition zones
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Landscape Dynamics | Land Cover and Use