Seasonal Variation in the NDVI–Species Richness Relationship in a Prairie Grassland Experiment (Cedar Creek)

Wang, Ran; Gamon, John A.; Montgomery, Rebecca A.; Townsend, Philip A.; Zygielbaum, Arthur I.; Bitan, Keren; Tilman, David; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine

doi:10.3390/rs8020128

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Seasonal Variation in the NDVI–Species Richness Relationship in a Prairie Grassland Experiment (Cedar Creek)

Ran Wang

^1,*,

John A. Gamon

^1,2,3,*,

Rebecca A. Montgomery

^4,†,

^5,†,

^3,†,

^4,†,

^4,† and

Jeannine Cavender-Bares

^4,†

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada

School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA

⁴

Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA

⁵

Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Academic Editors: Susan L. Ustin, Parth Sarathi Roy and Prasad S. Thenkabail

Remote Sens. 2016, 8(2), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8020128

Received: 2 December 2015 / Revised: 28 January 2016 / Accepted: 1 February 2016 / Published: 5 February 2016

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Biodiversity)

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Abstract

Species richness generally promotes ecosystem productivity, although the shape of the relationship varies and remains the subject of debate. One reason for this uncertainty lies in the multitude of methodological approaches to sampling biodiversity and productivity, some of which can be subjective. Remote sensing offers new, objective ways of assessing productivity and biodiversity. In this study, we tested the species richness–productivity relationship using a common remote sensing index, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), as a measure of productivity in experimental prairie grassland plots (Cedar Creek). Our study spanned a growing season (May to October, 2014) to evaluate dynamic changes in the NDVI–species richness relationship through time and in relation to environmental variables and phenology. We show that NDVI, which is strongly associated with vegetation percent cover and biomass, is related to biodiversity for this prairie site, but it is also strongly influenced by other factors, including canopy growth stage, short-term water stress and shifting flowering patterns. Remarkably, the NDVI-biodiversity correlation peaked at mid-season, a period of warm, dry conditions and anthesis, when NDVI reached a local minimum. These findings confirm a positive, but dynamic, productivity–diversity relationship and highlight the benefit of optical remote sensing as an objective and non-invasive tool for assessing diversity–productivity relationships. View Full-Text

Keywords: remote sensing; species richness; productivity; grassland; NDVI

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, R.; Gamon, J.A.; Montgomery, R.A.; Townsend, P.A.; Zygielbaum, A.I.; Bitan, K.; Tilman, D.; Cavender-Bares, J. Seasonal Variation in the NDVI–Species Richness Relationship in a Prairie Grassland Experiment (Cedar Creek). Remote Sens. 2016, 8, 128. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8020128

AMA Style

Wang R, Gamon JA, Montgomery RA, Townsend PA, Zygielbaum AI, Bitan K, Tilman D, Cavender-Bares J. Seasonal Variation in the NDVI–Species Richness Relationship in a Prairie Grassland Experiment (Cedar Creek). Remote Sensing. 2016; 8(2):128. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8020128

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Ran, John A. Gamon, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Philip A. Townsend, Arthur I. Zygielbaum, Keren Bitan, David Tilman, and Jeannine Cavender-Bares. 2016. "Seasonal Variation in the NDVI–Species Richness Relationship in a Prairie Grassland Experiment (Cedar Creek)" Remote Sensing 8, no. 2: 128. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8020128

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Seasonal Variation in the NDVI–Species Richness Relationship in a Prairie Grassland Experiment (Cedar Creek)

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