Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2011, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 327-332
Satellite diagnostic of long time changes
of vegetation cover in semiarid territory of Kazakhstan
Kazakh Research Institute of Environment and Climate, Kazakhstan, 050013, Almaty, 597, Seifulin str
Small bushy tree species dominate the semi-arid areas of Kazakhstan. In the course of their life cycle, they form a layer of litter that is resistant to wind transport. This small shrub species with its own litter play a significant role in the spectral characteristics of the Earth surface. Changes in the shrub canopy density or replacing them with herbaceous vegetation is accompanied by significant changes in the optical spectral especially in the autumn. LANDSAT-TM during 1985-2007 years and MODIS data (USGS: MOD09Q1, 2000-2010) were used for diagnostics of changes in relation between woody/herbaceous vegetation species in the dry zone of Kazakhstan. It was found that over the past 10 years, spreading of small shrub forms of semi-arid vegetation significantly decreased. There observes a persistent expansion of herbal forms, leading to the formation of new dry steppe areas. The mechanism of repression of woody vegetation constructed through the accumulation of dry plant mass during wet years, with its subsequent burnout during steppe wildfires. In the case of a strong fire, a complete destruction of woody species is observed. The restoration of small shrub cover demands more than 20 years. Comparative analysis of LANDSAT-TM images showed a 10 times increasing of the fire scar areas in the test area in the central part of Kazakhstan between 1985 and 2010 years. According MOD09Q1 was conducted the steppe fire scars mapping in Kazakhstan. Reducing the area occupied by woody vegetation in semi-desert zone was about 30 million hectares or over 30% of their total range in Kazakhstan.
Keywords: vegetation cover, small bushy tree species, satellite images, steppe wildfire, steppe fire scar mapping, formation of new dry steppe area
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