Identification and Classification of Degradation-Indicator Grass Species in a Desertified Steppe Based on HSI-UAV

The emergence and number of grassland degradation-indicator grass species are important in evaluating the extent of grassland degradation. Plant populations in desertified steppe are distributed randomly and at low density. Specifically, degradation-indicator grass species mainly exist as individuals, making spectrum-based identification difficult. Here, a low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hyperspectral remote-sensing system was constructed to identify the typical degradation-indicator grass species of a desertified steppe in China. The ASI index (Artemisia frigida Willd. and Stipa breviflora Grisb. index) and classification rules were proposed and applied. We implemented a comprehensive application of amplified differences in spectral characteristics between vegetation communities and assigned plant senescence reflectance-index bands, using the characteristics of the plant populations under observation and UAV hyperspectral remote-sensing data, to solve the problems resulting from high similarity while identifying ground objects. Our results lay a solid foundation for monitoring and evaluating desertified steppe degradation-indicator grass species based on remote sensing.