ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2024, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 249-262

Investigation of tundra lakes’ ecological features by applying spectral indices

K.I. Simonova 1 , N.V. Tsyvkunova 1 
1 Komarov Botanical Institute RAS, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Accepted: 18.09.2024
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2024-21-5-249-262
Arctic lake ecosystems are highly dynamic and very important for the flora and fauna of the northern territories. Currently, they are experiencing high anthropogenic pressure, which necessitates monitoring of their condition and vegetation. Conducting large-scale field studies in remote and inaccessible territories is very problematic, however remote methods provide relevant information. This work is devoted to the study of ecological features and vegetation of 16 tundra lakes in the west of Bolshezemelskaya tundra in the Ortina River basin based on field investigations carried out in 2023 and remote sensing data. For each lake, geobotanical descriptions with pH and salinity recording were carried out, morphometric indices and lake origin were determined. The calculated NDTI (Normalized Difference Turbidity Index), NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index), MNDWI (Modified Normalized Difference Water Index) and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) were used to study the response of the water surface to increased amount of suspended solids and water blooms during the vegetative season. A high correlation between NDVI values and projective vegetation coverage estimates made in field allows calculating projective coverage of the studied lakes by water plants.
Keywords: lake, tundra, Arctic, vegetation, remote sensing, NDTI, NDWI, MNDWI, NDVI
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