The responses of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens) forest aboveground biomass to Landsat TM spectral reflectance and NDVI

Bamboo is a special forest type in subtropical regions of china. Its huge biomass and carbon storage and its ecological function play an important role in global carbon sink. In this paper, Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens) forest in Anji county, Zhejiang province, China was selected to examine the relationships between Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data, and aboveground biomass (AGB, Kg), This research indicates that (1) near infrared (TM4) and mid-infrared bands (TM5,TM7) are more important in explaining Moso bamboo AGB than the visible bands. In particular, TM band5 has higher path coefficient with AGB than any other TM bands, implying its important role in explaining Moso bamboo AGB; (2) the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has weak correlation with Moso bamboo AGB, however, other vegetable indices such as Perpendicular Vegetation Index (PVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index(EVI), and Soil Adjust Vegetation Index (SAVI) which are related to soil adjustment parameters are significantly correlated with Moso bamboo AGB; (3) the new vegetation index developed in this paper is significantly correlated with Moso bamboo AGB (correlation coefficient is 0.48), and has higher correlation coefficient (R) than any other selected vegetation indices, implying that this new vegetation index can better explain Moso bamboo AGB than any other vegetation indices.