Special Reflectance of Some Plant Indicators of Saline and Nonsaline Soils
Abstract
The task of finding a water supply in an arid region and determining something of its potability can be aided by using various remote sensing techniques for gathering geological, botanical, and terrain data. The objective of this study was to determine if salt-tolerant and salt-intolerant plant species could be distinguished by some unique spectral bandpass in the 0.4 to 1. 1 micrometers spectral region. A number of study sites in Nevada having either salt-tolerant or intolerant plant species were selected. Spectral measurements were made on six salt-tolerant and two salt-intolerant species during June-July when the plants were in full vegetative stage and not under any apparent water deficit stress. The reflectance spectra of the halophyte and nonhalophyte species showed that they could not be differentiated using selected bandpasses because the spectral characteristics (intensity and wavelength range) were too similar for both groups. Comparison of individual spectra showed some salt- tolerant and intolerant species could be distinguished by their reflectance spectra. Even so, different species occupying similar landform conditions had similar spectral reflectance signatures. The canopy geometry and background were important factors affecting these spectral signatures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 23, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA119727
Entities
People
- John W. Eastes
- Melvin B. Satterwhite
Organizations
- Geospatial Research Laboratory