This study aims to provide a predictive vegetation mapping approach based on the spectral data, DEM and Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). GAMs were used as a prediction tool to describe the relationship between vegetation and environmental variables, as well as spectral variables. Based on the fitted GAMs model, probability map of species occurrence was generated and then vegetation type of each grid was defined according to the probability of species occurrence. Deviance analysis was employed to test the goodness of curve fitting and drop contribution calculation was used to evaluate the contribution of each predictor in the fitted GAMs models. Area under curve (AUC) of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to assess the results maps of probability. The results showed that: 1) AUC values of the fitted GAMs models are very high which proves that integrating spectral data and environmental variables based on the GAMs is a feasible way to map the vegetation. 2) Prediction accuracy varies with plant community, and community with dense cover is better predicted than sparse plant community. 3) Both spectral variables and environmental variables play an important role in mapping the vegetation. However, the contribution of the same predictor in the GAMs models for different plant communities is different. 4) Insufficient resolution of spectral data, environmental data and confounding effects of land use and other variables which are not closely related to the environmental conditions are the major causes of imprecision.
There are typical ecosystems of littoral wetlands in the Yellow River Delta.In order to study the relationships between Tamarix chinensis and environmental variables and to predict T.chinensis potential distribution in the Yellow River Delta,641 vegetation samples and 964 soil samples were collected in the area in October of 2004,2005,2006 and 2007.The contents of soil organic matter,total phosphorus,salt,and soluble potassium were determined.Then,the analyzed data were interpolated into spatial raster data by Kriging interpolation method.Meanwhile,the digital elevation model,soil type map and landform unit map of the Yellow River Delta were also collected.Generalized Additive Models(GAMs) were employed to build species-environment model and then simulate the potential distribution of T.chinensis.The results indicated that the distribution of T.chinensis was mainly limited by soil salt content,total soil phosphorus content,soluble potassium content,soil type,landform unit,and elevation.The distribution probability of T.chinensis was produced with a lookup table generated by Grasp Module(based on GAMs) in software ArcView GIS 3.2.The AUC(Area Under Curve) value of validation and cross-validation of ROC(Receive Operating Characteristic) were both higher than 0.8,which suggested that the established model had a high precision for predicting species distribution.
