Aboveground biomass (AGB) is one of the key indicators of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP). The aim of this study is to demonstrate the potential of hyperspectral remote sensing techniques to predict AGB in grasslands. In order to reach this goal, biomass properties with different ecological features and altitudes of 550 m, 1200 m, and 1400 m above sea level were investigated. Twenty-one biomass samples and hyperspectral measurements were collected from each region and a total of 63 samples were analyzed. Linear and nonlinear regression models were generated to analyze the relationships between biomass and hyperspectral vegetation indices (VIs). The results showed strong relationships between VIs and biomass variations. | Turkish Journal of Botany Turk J Bot 2019 43 619-633 http botany TÜBİTAK Research Article doi bot-1902-50 Ratio-based vegetation indices for biomass estimation depending on grassland characteristics 1 2 Ahmet KARAKOÇ Murat KARABULUT 1 Department of Geography Institute of Social Science Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Kahramanmaraş Turkey 2 Department of Geography Faculty of Art and Sciences Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Kahramanmaraş Turkey Received Accepted Published Online Final Version Abstract Aboveground biomass AGB is one of the key indicators of aboveground net primary productivity ANPP . The aim of this study is to demonstrate the potential of hyperspectral remote sensing techniques to predict AGB in grasslands. In order to reach this goal biomass properties with different ecological features and altitudes of 550 m 1200 m and 1400 m above sea level were investigated. Twenty-one biomass samples and hyperspectral measurements were collected from each region and a total of 63 samples were analyzed. Linear and nonlinear regression models were generated to analyze the relationships between biomass and hyperspectral vegetation indices VIs . The results showed strong relationships between VIs and biomass variations. However dense biomass samples indicated weaker relationships with VIs due to saturation phenomena. Findings based on the measured data showed that AGB except dense biomass can be estimated with high accuracy using hyperspectral vegetation indices. Key words Biomass hyperspectral remote sensing ratio-based vegetation indices grasslands Kahramanmaraş 1. Introduction characterization of the types and conditions of grasslands Grasslands are geographically unique and ecologically are required for the sustainable use of such resources and and agroeconomically significant covering roughly 25 for better understanding the impact of changes in these of the terrestrial landscape of the .
