Anthropogenic disturbances affect the relationship between spectral indices and the biometric variables of brazilian savannas

Abstract

According to previous studies involving biometric variables modeling using remote sensing (RS), data did not consider the effects of anthropogenic disturbance as relevant factor. The main objective of this study was to model aboveground biomass (AGB) and total wood volume (TWV) of Brazilian Savanna biome using vegetation indices (VI) from LANDSAT 5 TM. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and random forest (RF) algorithm were applied across 641 field plots of cerrado sensu stricto of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, comparing two models: non-stratified, and stratified according to plot’s anthropization degree. AGB and TWV obtained from non-anthropized plots presented linear relation with VIs (R2 = 0.82 and 0.74, respectively) and, on the other hand, presented nonlinear relation when plots were affected by anthropogenic disturbances or were not stratified. This finding helps improving estimates by stratifying plots into their anthropization degree, mainly in the Brazilian Savanna biome undergoing anthropogenic disturbances.