Empirical Modelling of Vegetation Abundance from Airborne Hyperspectral Data for Upland Peatland Restoration Monitoring

Peatlands are important terrestrial carbon stores. Restoration of degraded peatlands to restore ecosystem services is a major area of conservation effort. Monitoring is crucial to judge the success of this restoration. Remote sensing is a potential tool to provide landscape-scale information on the habitat condition. Using an empirical modelling approach, this paper aims to use airborne hyperspectral image data with ground vegetation survey data to model vegetation abundance for a degraded upland blanket bog in the United Kingdom (UK), which is undergoing restoration. A predictive model for vegetation abundance of Plant Functional Types (PFT) was produced using a Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) and applied to the whole restoration site. A sensitivity test on the relationships between spectral data and vegetation abundance at PFT and single species level confirmed that PFT was the correct scale for analysis. The PLSR modelling allows selection of variables based upon the weighted regression coefficient of the individual spectral bands, showing which bands have the most influence on the model. These results suggest that the SWIR has less value for monitoring peatland vegetation from hyperspectral images than initially predicted. RMSE values for the validation data range between 10% and 16% cover, indicating that the models can be used as an operational tool, considering the subjective nature of existing vegetation survey results. These predicted coverage images are the first quantitative landscape scale monitoring results to be produced for the site. High resolution hyperspectral mapping of PFTs has the potential to assess recovery of peatland systems at landscape scale for the first time.

• Publication year

  2014

• Venue

  Remote Sensing

• Publication date

  2014-01-09

• Fields of study

  Geology, Computer Science, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/rs6010716
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Spectral monitoring of moorland plant phenology to identify a temporal window for hyperspectral remote sensing of peatland

  2014cited by this paper
• Plant functional composition and ecosystem properties: the case of peatlands in South Africa

  2012cited by this paper
• Mapping plant strategy types using remote sensing

  2012influential reference
• Optimising the use of hyperspectral and LiDAR data for mapping reedbed habitats

  2011cited by this paper
• Combining Isomap ordination and imaging spectroscopy to map continuous floristic gradients in a heterogeneous landscape

  2011cited by this paper
• Empirical correction of multiple flightline hyperspectral aerial image mosaics

  2011cited by this paper
• IUCN UK Commission of Inquiry on Peatlands

  2011cited by this paper
• Remote sensing of plant functional types.

  2010cited by this paper
• Review of the historical environmental changes in the UK uplands relevant to management and policy

  2010cited by this paper
• Brightness-normalized Partial Least Squares Regression for hyperspectral data

  2010cited by this paper
• Comparative analysis of three chemometric techniques for the spectroradiometric assessment of canopy chlorophyll content in winter wheat

  2010influential reference
• Environmental effects of drainage, drain-blocking and prescribed vegetation burning in UK upland peatlands

  2009cited by this paper
• Soil organic carbon prediction by hyperspectral remote sensing and field vis-NIR spectroscopy: An Australian case study

  2008cited by this paper
• Towards spatial assessment of carbon sequestration in peatlands: spectroscopy based estimation of fractional cover of three plant functional types

  2008cited by this paper
• Measuring and modelling biodiversity from space

  2008cited by this paper
• Estimation of green grass/herb biomass from airborne hyperspectral imagery using spectral indices and partial least squares regression

  2007cited by this paper
• Predicting the future carbon budget of an upland peat catchment

  2007cited by this paper
• Environmental change in moorland landscapes

  2007cited by this paper
• On scales and dynamics in observing the environment

  2006cited by this paper
• Visible, near infrared, mid infrared or combined diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for simultaneous assessment of various soil properties

  2006cited by this paper
• Carbon losses from all soils across England and Wales 1978–2003

  2005cited by this paper
• Overview and Recent Advances in Partial Least Squares

  2005cited by this paper
• Imaging spectroscopy as a tool for mapping Ellenberg indicator values

  2005influential reference
• Remote sensing of forest biophysical variables using HyMap imaging spectrometer data

  2005cited by this paper
• Remote sensing of upland vegetation: the potential of high spatial resolution satellite sensors

  2004cited by this paper
• Mapping of continuous floristic gradients in grasslands using hyperspectral imagery

  2004influential reference
• Estimating foliage nitrogen concentration from HYMAP data using continuum, removal analysis

  2004cited by this paper
• Remote sensing for biodiversity science and conservation

  2003cited by this paper
• Reflectance measurement of canopy biomass and nitrogen status in wheat crops using normalized difference vegetation indices and partial least squares regression

  2003cited by this paper
• Why principal component analysis is not an appropriate feature extraction method for hyperspectral data

  2003cited by this paper
• The future of cool temperate bogs

  2002cited by this paper
• Remote sensing and upland peat erosion in the Southern Pennines

  2002cited by this paper
• PLS-regression: a basic tool of chemometrics

  2001cited by this paper
• Variable and subset selection in PLS regression

  2001cited by this paper
• Linear regression modelling for the estimation of oil palm age from Landsat TM

  2001cited by this paper
• Procedure

  2001cited by this paper
• Imaging spectrometry : basic principles and prospective applications

  2001cited by this paper
• Imaging Spectrometry and Vegetation Science

  2001cited by this paper
• Modified Jack-knife estimation of parameter uncertainty in bilinear modelling by partial least squares regression (PLSR)

  2000cited by this paper
• Plant Litter and Soil Reflectance

  2000cited by this paper
• Between‐observer variation in the application of a standard method of habitat mapping by environmental consultants in the UK

  1999cited by this paper
• Growth and degradation of British and Irish blanket mires.

  1998cited by this paper
• Plant functional classifications: from general groups to specific groups based on response to disturbance.

  1997cited by this paper
• Evolutionary variable selection in regression and PLS analyses

  1996cited by this paper
• Upland heather moorland in Great Britain: A review of international importance, vegetation change and some objectives for nature conservation

  1995cited by this paper
• Imaging spectrometry

  1994cited by this paper
• The effect of a red leaf pigment on the relationship between red edge and chlorophyll concentration

  1991cited by this paper
• Remote sensing of foliar chemistry

  1989cited by this paper
• Remote Sensing in Ecology.

  1970cited by this paper

• Remote sensing applications for monitoring restoration outcomes in boreal forestry-drained peatlands - Reviewed applications and future potential

  2026cites this paper
• Open-access satellite data for peatland condition and restoration monitoring in the UK: a review

  2025cites this paper
• UAV and field hyperspectral imaging for Sphagnum discrimination and vegetation modelling in Finnish aapa mires

  2024cites this paper
• Remote sensing of peatland degradation in temperate and boreal climate zones – A review of the potentials, gaps, and challenges

  2024cites this paper
• Monitoring wetland plant diversity from space: Progress and perspective

  2024cites this paper
• Species-Level Classification of Peatland Vegetation Using Ultra-High-Resolution UAV Imagery

  2024cites this paper
• Using ZY1-02D satellite hyperspectral remote sensing to monitor landscape diversity and its spatial scaling change in the Yellow River Estuary

  2024cites this paper
• RGB vs. Multispectral imagery: Mapping aapa mire plant communities with UAVs

  2023cites this paper
• Disturbance alters relationships between soil carbon pools and aboveground vegetation attributes in an anthropogenic peatland in Patagonia

  2021cites this paper
• Peatland leaf-area index and biomass estimation with ultra-high resolution remote sensing

  2020cites this paper
• Incorporating plant community structure in species distribution modelling: a species co-occurrence based composite approach

  2020cites this paper
• Application of airborne hyperspectral data for mapping of invasive alien Spiraea tomentosa L.: a serious threat to peat bog plant communities

  2020cites this paper
• Foliar Spectra and Traits of Bog Plants across Nitrogen Deposition Gradients

  2020cites this paper
• Blanket Peat Restoration: Numerical Study of the Underlying Processes Delivering Natural Flood Management Benefits

  2020cites this paper
• Towards a microbial process-based understanding of the resilience of peatland ecosystem service provisioning - A research agenda.

  2020cites this paper
• Deposited in DRO : 02 January 2019 Version of attached

  2019cites this paper
• Mapping landscape-scale peatland degradation using airborne lidar and multispectral data

  2019cites this paper
• Restoration of blanket peat moorland delays stormflow from hillslopes and reduces peak discharge

  2019cites this paper
• Detecting northern peatland vegetation patterns at ultra‐high spatial resolution

  2019cites this paper
• Comparing ultra‐high spatial resolution remote‐sensing methods in mapping peatland vegetation

  2019cites this paper
• Use of remote sensing to analyse peatland changes after drainage for peat extraction

  2018cites this paper
• Hyperspectral Estimation of the Chlorophyll Content in Short-Term and Long-Term Restorations of Mangrove in Quanzhou Bay Estuary, China

  2018cites this paper
• A multi-sensor approach for improving biodiversity estimation in the Hyrcanian mountain forest, Iran

  2018influential citation
• Remote sensing in support of conservation and management of heathland vegetation

  2017cites this paper
• Field Spectroscopy as a Tool for Enhancing Water Quality Monitoring in the ACE Basin, SC

  2017cites this paper
• Predicting Vascular Plant Diversity in Anthropogenic Peatlands: Comparison of Modeling Methods with Free Satellite Data

  2017cites this paper
• Assessing the functional signature of heathland landscapes via hyperspectral remote sensing

  2017cites this paper
• Peatland restoration and the dynamics of dissolved nitrogen in upland freshwaters

  2017cites this paper
• Contaminated sediment dynamics in peatland headwater catchments

  2017cites this paper
• Spatial nature conservation monitoring on the basis of ecological gradients using imaging spectroscopy

  2017influential citation
• A Review of Wetland Remote Sensing

  2017cites this paper
• Mapping multiple plant species abundance patterns - A multiobjective optimization procedure for combining reflectance spectroscopy and species ordination

  2016cites this paper
• How do we want Satellite Remote Sensing to support biodiversity conservation globally?

  2016cites this paper
• Airborne hyperspectral data predict Ellenberg indicator values for nutrient and moisture availability in dry grazed grasslands within a local agricultural landscape

  2016cites this paper
• Utilizing a PLSR-Based Band-Selection Procedure for Spectral Feature Characterization of Floristic Gradients

  2016cites this paper
• High-Resolution Classification of South Patagonian Peat Bog Microforms Reveals Potential Gaps in Up-Scaled CH4 Fluxes by use of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and CIR Imagery

  2016cites this paper
• Radar multi-temporal and multi-sensor approach to characterise peat moorland burn scars and assess burn scar persistence in the landscape

  2016cites this paper
• Classification of Herbaceous Vegetation Using Airborne Hyperspectral Imagery

  2015cites this paper
• Mapping tree distribution and LAI in peatlands using field methods and imaging spectroscopy: a case study for the Haaksbergerveen, the Netherlands

  2015cites this paper
• Hyperspectral remote sensing of peatland floristic gradients

  2015cites this paper
• Peatland restoration: controls on sediment production and reductions in carbon and pollutant export

  2015cites this paper
• Estimation of foliar chlorophyll and nitrogen content in an ombrotrophic bog from hyperspectral data: Scaling from leaf to image

  2015cites this paper
• Tracing peatland geomorphology: sediment and contaminant movements in eroding and restored systems

  2014cites this paper