at Google ScholarTitle data
Vanselow, Kim André ; Zandler, Harald ; Samimi, Cyrus:
Time Series Analysis of Land Cover Change in Dry Mountains : Insights from the Tajik Pamirs.
In: Remote Sensing.
Vol. 13
(2021)
Issue 19
.
- No. 3951.
ISSN 2072-4292
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13193951
Project information
| Project title: |
Project's official title Project's id Ecological Calendars and Climate Adaptation in the Pamirs, ECCAP SA 775/12-1 Umweltwandel im Westpamir (Tadschikistan) - Eine Bewertung der Veränderung der Vegetation und ihrer Ökosystemfunktionen und -dienstleistungen in der Rushan Kette VA 749/4-1 |
|---|---|
| Project financing: |
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft |
Abstract in another language
Greening and browning trends in vegetation have been observed in many regions of the world in recent decades. However, few studies focused on dry mountains. Here, we analyze trends of land cover change in the Western Pamirs, Tajikistan. We aim to gain a deeper understanding of these changes and thus improve remote sensing studies in dry mountainous areas. The study area is characterized by a complex set of attributes, making it a prime example for this purpose. We used generalized additive mixed models for the trend estimation of a 32-year Landsat time series (1988–2020) of the modified soil adjusted vegetation index, vegetation data, and environmental and socio-demographic data. With this approach, we were able to cope with the typical challenges that occur in the remote sensing analysis of dry and mountainous areas, including background noise and irregular data. We found that greening and browning trends coexist and that they vary according to the land cover class, topography, and geographical distribution. Greening was detected predominantly in agricultural and forestry areas, indicating direct anthropogenic drivers of change. At other sites, greening corresponds well with increasing temperature. Browning was frequently linked to disastrous events, which are promoted by increasing temperatures.