Ly-Yu Chang

Monitoring agricultural drought in the Lower Mekong Basin using MODIS NDVI and land surface temperature data

Abstract Drought is a complex natural phenomenon, and its impacts on agriculture are enormous. Drought has been a prevalent concern for farmers in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) over the last decades; thus, monitoring drought is important for water planning and management to mitigate impacts on agriculture in the region. This study explored the applicability of monthly MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST) data for agricultural drought monitoring in LMB in the dry season from November 2001 to April 2010. The data were processed using the temperature vegetation dryness index (TVDI), calculated by parameterizing the relationship between the MODIS NDVI and LST data. The daily volumetric surface soil moisture from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and monthly precipitation from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) were collected and used for verification of the results. In addition, we compared the efficiency of TVDI with a commonly used drought index, the crop water stress index (CWSI), derived from the MODIS LST alone. The results achieved from comparisons between TVDI and AMSR-E soil moisture data indicated acceptable correlations between the two datasets in most cases. There was close agreement between TVDI and TRMM precipitation data through the season, indicating that TVDI was sensitive to precipitation. The TVDI compared to CWSI also yielded close correlations between both datasets. The TVDI was, however, more sensitive to soil moisture stress than CWSI. The results archived by analysis of TVDI indicated that the moderate and severe droughts were spatially scattered over the region from November to March, but more extensive in northeast Thailand and Cambodia. The larger area of severe drought was especially observed for the 2003–2006 dry seasons compared to other years. The results achieved from this study could be important for drought warnings and irrigation scheduling.

A Phenology-Based Classification of Time-Series MODIS Data for Rice Crop Monitoring in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Rice crop monitoring is an important activity for crop management. This study aimed to develop a phenology-based classification approach for the assessment of rice cropping systems in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The data were processed from December 2000, to December 2012, using empirical mode decomposition (EMD) in three main steps: (1) data pre-processing to construct the smooth MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) time-series data; (2) rice crop classification; and (3) accuracy assessment. The comparisons between the classification maps and the ground reference data indicated overall accuracies and Kappa coefficients, respectively, of 81.4% and 0.75 for 2002, 80.6% and 0.74 for 2006 and 85.5% and 0.81 for 2012. The results by comparisons between MODIS-derived rice area and rice area statistics were slightly overestimated, with a relative error in area (REA) from 0.9–15.9%. There was, however, a close correlation between the two datasets (R2 ≥ 0.89). From 2001 to 2012, the areas of triple-cropped rice increased approximately 31.6%, while those of the single-cropped rain-fed rice, double-cropped irrigated rice and double-cropped rain-fed rice decreased roughly −5.0%, −19.2% and −7.4%, respectively. This study demonstrates the validity of such an approach for rice-crop monitoring with MODIS data and could be transferable to other regions.

Multi-Decadal Mangrove Forest Change Detection and Prediction in Honduras, Central America, with Landsat Imagery and a Markov Chain Model

Mangrove forests play an important role in providing ecological and socioeconomic services for human society. Coastal development, which converts mangrove forests to other land uses, has often ignored the services that mangrove may provide, leading to irreversible environmental degradation. Monitoring the spatiotemporal distribution of mangrove forests is thus critical for natural resources management of mangrove ecosystems. This study investigates spatiotemporal changes in Honduran mangrove forests using Landsat imagery during the periods 1985–1996, 1996–2002, and 2002–2013. The future trend of mangrove forest changes was projected by a Markov chain model to support decision-making for coastal management. The remote sensing data were processed through three main steps: (1) data pre-processing to correct geometric errors between the Landsat imageries and to perform reflectance normalization; (2) image classification with the unsupervised Otsu’s method and change detection; and (3) mangrove change projection using a Markov chain model. Validation of the unsupervised Otsu’s method was made by comparing the classification results with the ground reference data in 2002, which yielded satisfactory agreement with an overall accuracy of 91.1% and Kappa coefficient of 0.82. When examining mangrove changes from 1985 to 2013, approximately 11.9% of the mangrove forests were transformed to other land uses, especially shrimp farming, while little effort (3.9%) was applied for mangrove rehabilitation during this 28-year period. Changes in the extent of mangrove forests were further projected until 2020, indicating that the area of mangrove forests could be continuously reduced by 1,200 ha from 2013 (approximately 36,700 ha) to 2020 (approximately 35,500 ha). Institutional interventions should be taken for sustainable management of mangrove ecosystems in this coastal region.

Mangrove Mapping and Change Detection in Ca Mau Peninsula, Vietnam, Using Landsat Data and Object-Based Image Analysis

Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem goods and services for human society. Extensive coastal development in many developing countries has converted mangrove forests to other land uses without regard to their ecosystem service values; thus, the ecosystem state of mangrove forests is critical for officials to evaluate sustainable coastal management strategies. The objective of this study is to investigate the multidecadal change in mangrove forests in Ca Mau peninsula, South Vietnam, based on Landsat data from 1979 to 2013. The data were processed through four main steps: 1) data preprocessing; 2) image processing using the object-based image analysis (OBIA); 3) accuracy assessment; and 4) multitemporal change detection and spatial analysis of mangrove forests. The classification maps compared with the ground reference data showed the satisfactory agreement with the overall accuracy higher than 82%. From 1979 to 2013, the area of mangrove forests in the study region had decreased by 74%, mainly due to the boom of local aquaculture industry in the study region. Given that mangrove reforestation and afforestation only contributed about 13.2% during the last three decades, advanced mangrove management strategies are in an acute need for promoting environmental sustainability in the future.

Classification of rice cropping systems by empirical mode decomposition and linear mixture model for time-series MODIS 250 m NDVI data in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Estimating the area of rice planting is vital for production prediction. This study utilizes time-series MODIS NDVI data from 2002 to 2007 to discriminate rice cropping systems in the Mekong Delta (MD), Vietnam. Data are processed using Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and the Linear Mixture Model (LMM). Various spatial and non-spatial data are also collected for accuracy validation. The results indicate that EMD acts as a well-fitted filter for noise reduction of the time-series NDVI data. The classification results derived from the LMM for 2002 showed an overall classification accuracy of 71.6% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.6. The provincial level area estimates were strongly correlated with the rice statistics. An examination of the change in cropping patterns between 2002 and 2007 showed that 29.0% of the triple irrigated-rice cropping systems had been changed to double irrigated-rice cropping systems and that 12.0% and 9.0% of the double irrigated and rainfed-rice cropping systems, respectively, had been changed to triple rice cropping systems. These changes were verified by visual comparisons with Landsat images.

Prediction of rice crop yield using MODIS EVI−LAI data in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Predicting rice crop yield at the regional scale is important for production estimates that ensure food security for a country. This study aimed to develop an approach for rice crop yield prediction in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and leaf area index (LAI). Data processing consisted of four main steps: (1) constructing time-series vegetation indices, (2) noise filtering of time-series data using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), (3) establishment of crop yield models, and (4) model validation. The results indicated that the quadratic model using two variables (EVI and LAI) produced more accurate results than other models (i.e. linear, interaction, pure quadratic, and quadratic with a single variable). The highest correlation coefficients obtained at the ripening period for the spring–winter and autumn–summer crops were 0.70 and 0.74, respectively. The robustness of the established models was evaluated by comparisons between the predicted yields and crop yield statistics for 10 sampling districts in 2006 and 2007. The comparisons revealed satisfactory results for both years, especially for the spring–winter crop. In 2006, the root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean bias error (MBE) for the spring–winter crop were 10.18%, 8.44% and 0.9%, respectively, while the values for the autumn–summer crop were 17.65%, 14.06%, and 3.52%, respectively. In 2007, the spring–winter crop also yielded better results (RMSE = 10.56%, MAE = 9.14%, MBE = 3.68%) compared with the autumn–summer crop (RMSE = 17%, MAE = 12.69%, MBE = 2.31%). This study demonstrates the merit of using MODIS data for regional rice crop yield prediction in the Mekong Delta before the harvest period. The methods used in this study could be transferable to other regions around the world.

Wavelet filtering of time-series moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer data for rice crop mapping using support vector machines and maximum likelihood classifier

Rice is the most important economic crop in Vietnams Mekong Delta (MD). It is the main source of employment and income for rural people in this region. Yearly estimates of rice growing areas and delineation of spatial distribution of rice crops are needed to devise agricultural economic plans and to ensure security of the food supply. The main objective of this study is to map rice cropping systems with respect to monitoring agricultural practices in the MD using time-series moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) 250-m data. These time-series NDVI data were derived from the 8-day MODIS 250-m data acquired in 2008. Various spatial and nonspatial data were also used for accuracy verification. The method used in this study consists of the following three main steps: 1. filtering noise from the time-series NDVI data using wavelet transformation (Coiflet 4); 2. classification of rice cropping systems using parametric and nonparametric classification algorithms: the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) and support vector machines (SVMs); and 3. verification of classification results using ground truth data and government rice statistics. Good results can be found using wavelet transformation for cleaning rice signatures. The results of classification accuracy assessment showed that the SVMs outperformed the MLC. The overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient achieved by the SVMs were 89.7% and 0.86, respectively, while those achieved by the MLC were 76.2% and 0.68, respectively. Comparison of the MODIS-derived areas obtained by the SVMs with the government rice statistics at the provincial level also demonstrated that the results achieved by the SVMs (R2 = 0.95) were better than the MLC (R2 = 0.91). This study demonstrates the effectiveness of using a nonparametric classification algorithm (SVMs) and time-series MODIS NVDI data for rice crop mapping in the Vietnamese MD.

Drought monitoring in cultivated areas of Central America using multi-temporal MODIS data

ABSTRACT Drought is the most pressing problem facing farmers in Central America, and information on drought is thus crucial for agronomic planners to minimize impacts on crop production and food supply. This study assessed the cultivated areas affected by droughts using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data during 2001–2014, processed using a simple vegetation health index (VHI). The results, verified with the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) precipitation data and TVDI (temperature vegetation dryness index), indicated that the correlation coefficients (r) between the VHI and AMSR2 precipitation data for 2013 and 2014 were 0.81 and 0.78, respectively, and the values between VHI and TVDI were –0.68 and –0.61, respectively. The largest area of severe drought was especially observed for the 2014 primera season (April–August) over the last 14 years. The drought mapping results were aggregated with the cultivated areas for crop monitoring purposes.

A logistic-based method for rice monitoring from multitemporal MODIS-Landsat fusion data

Abstract Information on rice cropping activities and growing areas is critical for crop management. This study developed a logistic-based method to monitor rice sowing and harvesting activities and, accordingly, to map rice growing areas from the MODIS-Landsat fusion data in An Giang Province, Vietnam. The EVI2 data derived from the fusion data compared with that of Landsat data indicated a close correlation (R2 = 0.93). The comparisons between the estimated sowing and harvesting dates and the field survey data revealed the RMSE values of around 8 and 5 days for the winter-spring crop and 9 and 12 days for the summer-autumn crop, respectively. The rice mapping results compared with the ground reference data indicated an overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient of 93.2% and 0.86 for the winter-spring crop, and 91.7% and 0.83 for the summer-autumn crop, respectively. These results were reaffirmed by the governments rice areas statistics, with the relative error in area values smaller than 3.3%.

Assessing rice crop damage and restoration using remote sensing in tsunami-affected areas, Japan

Abstract. The tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011, in Japan caused widespread devastation of infrastructure and rice cultivation areas. This study assessed the rice growing areas damaged due to this event and the restoration progress using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer data. The data were processed for 2010 to 2013, comprising four main steps: (1) data preprocessing to construct the smooth time-series enhanced vegetation index 2 data, (2) rice crop mapping using the dynamic time warping algorithm, (3) accuracy assessment, and (4) change analysis of rice cultivation areas. The mapping results validated using the ground reference data indicated overall accuracies and kappa coefficients generally >84.3% and 0.69, respectively. The results, also verified with the government’s rice area statistics, reaffirmed a close correlation between these two datasets (R2>0.77). When examining changes of rice cultivation between 2010 and 2013, the rice area damaged by the tsunami during 2010 to 2011 was ∼17,550  ha. The rice area restored after one year (2012) was ∼6663  ha, but this regressed slightly in 2013 (5656 ha). Such information could be used by officials to better understand the tsunami-damaged rice area and the restoration progress for crop management in the study region.