Study Of Land Degradation With Polarimetric SAR And Visible/near-infrared Imaging Spectroscopy

Abstract

The Manix Basin Area of the Mojave Desert has been used extensively for the cultivation of alfalfa with center-pivot sprinkler irrigation systems. Since 1972, a series of these fields has been abandoned. Data were collected using the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar and Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer instruments in the summer of 1990. Polarimetric analysis of the AIRSAR data reveal changes in the morphology of the surfaces of the abandoned fields from cultivation patterns to patterns resulting from wind erosion. Calculation of a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) based on the AVIRIS data suggests that the abandoned fields support more vegetation than the undisturbed areas for the first few years of abandonment, but that the vegetation density on fields which have been abandoned for six or more years is lower than the undisturbed desert. Field observations confirm the remote sensing results.

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