Assessing Biodiversity from Space: An Example from the Western Ghats, India

Found at: https://hdl.handle.net/10535/3219
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Type:	Journal Article
Author:	Bawa, Kamal; Rose, Joseph; Ganeshaiah, K. N.; Barve, Narayani; Kiran, M. C.; Umashaanker, R.
Journal:	Ecology and Society
Volume:	6
Page(s):
Date:	2002
URI:	https://hdl.handle.net/10535/3219
Sector:	General & Multiple Resources Global Commons Forestry
Region:	Middle East & South Asia
Subject(s):	diversity deforestation
Abstract:	"We demonstrate for the first time the potential use of satellite imagery to characterize areas of high and low species richness of trees in tropical forests. Our studies, conducted in the Biligiri Rangaswamy hills in the Western Ghats, India, show a high positive correlation between species richness and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which is an index of green biomass. We discuss the application of NDVI values for biodiversity assessment and monitoring, as well as for conservation planning. The NDVI is a rough measure of green biomass."

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