Abstract
Savanna rangelands are undergoing rapid environmental change and the need to monitor and manage landscape health is becoming increasingly an imperative of government agencies and research organizations. Remotely sensed ecological indicators of disturbance offer a potential approach, particularly in the context of issues of scale required to assess and monitor extensive rangeland areas. The objective of this research is to analyse the potential of spatially explicit ecological indicators of disturbance to explain the spatial variability in species diversity and abundance (including introduced flora species) in rangelands. For two mapped rangeland ecosystem types in northern Australia, regression analysis was used to explore the relationships between species diversity and abundance, and remotely sensed ground cover time series statistics, foliage projective cover, and a precipitation deficit index. It was assumed that the ecosystem types used had been mapped to represent uniform vegetation units and consequently predictors of environmental heterogeneity were not used in the regression analysis. It was found that the predictor variables performed well in explaining the variation in species diversity and abundance for the more open, homogenous and less topographically complex basalt ecosystem type and less effectively for the more structurally complex, more wooded and less disturbed metamorphic ecosystem type. The results indicate that, for mapped ecosystem types with low heterogeneity and topographic complexity, ground cover temporal mean and variance are potentially useful indicators of disturbance to species diversity and abundance, provided the local spatial variability in the climate signal is accounted for.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson TM, Metzger KL, McNaughton SJ (2007) Multi-scale analysis of plant species richness in Serengeti grasslands. J Biogeogr 34:313–323. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01598.x
Armston JD, Danaher TJ, Collett LJ (2004) A regression approach for mapping woody foliage projective cover in Queensland with Landsat data. In: Proceedings of the 12th Australasian remote sensing and photogrammetry conference. Fremantle, Australia, Oct 2004
Ash A, O’Reagain P, McKeon G, Smith MS (1997) Managing climate variability in grazing enterprises: a case study of Dalrymple Shire, north-eastern Australia. In: Hammer GL, Nicholls N, Mitchell C (eds) Symposium on applications of seasonal climate forecasting in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Springer Brisbane, Australia, pp 253–270
Bastin GN (2005) Australian collaborative rangeland information system: reporting change in the rangelands, national synthesis of reports from pilot regions. In: Report to the Australian collaborative rangeland information system (ACRIS) management committee CSIRO alice springs
Bedward M, Keith DA, Pressey RL (1992) Homogeneity analysis—assessing the utility of classifications and maps of natural-resources. Aust J Ecol 17:133–139. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.1992.tb00791.x
Benvenuti S (2007) Weed seed movement and dispersal strategies in the agricultural environment. Weed Biol Manag 7:141–157. doi:10.1111/j.1445-6664.2007.00249.x
Bestelmeyer BT (2006) Threshold concepts and their use in rangeland management and restoration: the good, the bad, and the insidious. Restor Ecol 14:325–329. doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2006.00140.x
Bestelmeyer BT, Wiens JA (2001) Ant biodiversity in semiarid landscape mosaics: the consequences of grazing vs. natural heterogeneity. Ecol Appl 11:1123–1140. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[1123:ABISLM]2.0.CO;2
Bond WJ, Midgley GF, Woodward FI (2003) What controls South African vegetation—climate or fire? S Afr J Bot 69:79–91
Churchill TB, Ludwig JA (2004) Changes in spider assemblages along grassland and savanna grazing gradients in northern Australia. Rangel J 26:3–16. doi:10.1071/RJ04001
Collins SL, Smith MD (2006) Scale-dependent interaction of fire and grazing on community heterogeneity in tallgrass prairie. Ecology 87:2058–2067. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2058:SIOFAG]2.0.CO;2
D’Eon R, Glenn SM, Parfitt I, Fortin MJ (2002) Landscape connectivity as a function of scale and organism vagility in a real forested landscape. Conserv Ecol 6(2)
Dickman CR, Mahon PS, Masters P, Gibson DF (1999) Long-term dynamics of rodent populations in arid Australia: the influence of rainfall. Wildl Res 26:389–403. doi:10.1071/WR97057
Donohue RJ, Roderick ML, McVicar TR (2008) Deriving consistent long-term vegetation information from AVHRR reflectance data using a cover-triangle-based framework. Remote Sens Environ 112:2938–2949. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2008.02.008
Enslin BW, Potgieter ALF, Biggs HC, Biggs R (2000) Long term effects of fire frequency and season on the woody vegetation dynamics of the Sclerocarya birrea/Acacia nigrescens savanna of the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 43:27–37
Fensham RJ, Holman JE (1999) Temporal and spatial patterns in drought-related tree dieback in Australian savanna. J Appl Ecol 36:1035–1050. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.1999.00460.x
Fensham RJ, Fairfax RJ, Holman JE (2002) Response of a rare herb (Trioncinia retroflexa) from semi-arid tropical grassland to occasional fire and grazing. Aust Ecol 27:284–290. doi:10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01180.x
Fensham RJ, Fairfax RJ, Archer SR (2005) Rainfall, land use and woody vegetation cover change in semi-arid Australian savanna. J Ecol 93:596–606. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.00998.x
Fisher A, Kutt A (2007) Biodiversity and land condition in tropical savanna rangelands: technical report. In tropical savannas CRC, Darwin
Fuller DO (1998) Trends in NDVI time series and their relation to rangeland and crop production in Senegal, 1987–1993. Int J Remote Sens 19:2013–2018. doi:10.1080/014311698215135
Gillanders SN, Coops NC, Wulder NA, Gergel SE, Nelson T (2008) Multitemporal remote sensing of landscape dynamics and pattern change: describing natural and anthropogenic trends. Prog Phys Geogr 32:503. doi:10.1177/0309133308098363
Goulevitch BM, Danaher TJ, Stewart AJ, Harris DP, Lawrence LJ (2002) Mapping woody vegetation cover over the State of Queensland using Landsat TM and ETM + imagery. In: Proceedings of the 11th Australasian remote sensing and photogrammetry conference. Brisbane
Grice AC, Campbell SD (2000) Weeds in pasture ecosystems—symptom or disease? Trop Grassl 34:264–270
Grossmann EB, Mladenoff DJ (2007) Open woodland and savanna decline in a mixed-disturbance landscape (1938 to 1998) in the northwest Wisconsin (USA) sand plain. Landscape Ecol 22:43–55. doi:10.1007/s10980-007-9113-7
Harner RF, Harper KT (1976) Role of area, heterogeneity, and favorability in plant species-diversity of pinyon-juniper ecosystems. Ecology 57:1254–1263. doi:10.2307/1935049
Harris AT, Asner GP (2003) Grazing gradient detection with airborne imaging spectroscopy on a semi-arid rangeland. J Arid Environ 55:391–404. doi:10.1016/S0140-1963(02)00253-7
Hill MO (1973) Diversity and evenness—unifying notation and its consequences. Ecology 54:427–432. doi:10.2307/1934352
Houlder DJ, Hutchinson MF, Nix HA, McMahon JP (2000) ANUCLIM user guide. Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, Canberra
Innes JL, Koch B (1998) Forest biodiversity and its assessment by remote sensing. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 7:397–419. doi:10.1046/j.1466-822X.1998.00314.x
Jeffrey SJ, Carter JO, Moodie KB, Beswick AR (2001) Using spatial interpolation to construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data. Environ Model Softw 16:309–330. doi:10.1016/S1364-8152(01)00008-1
Kerr JT, Ostrovsky M (2003) From space to species: ecological applications for remote sensing. Trends Ecol Evol 18:299–305. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(03)00071-5
Kutt AS, Woinarski JCZ (2007) The effects of grazing and fire on vegetation and the vertebrate assemblage in a tropical savanna woodland in north-eastern Australia. J Trop Ecol 23:95–106. doi:10.1017/S0266467406003579
Kutt AS, Thurgate NY, Hannah DS (2004) Distribution and habitat of the desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) in Queensland. Wildl Res 31:129–142. doi:10.1071/WR02005
Landsberg J, James CD, Morton SR, Muller WJ, Stol J (2003) Abundance and composition of plant species along grazing gradients in Australian rangelands. J Appl Ecol 40:1008–1024. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2003.00862.x
Leyequien E, Verrelst J, Slot M, Schaepman-Strub G, Heitkönig IMA, Skidmore A (2007) Capturing the fugitive: applying remote sensing to terrestrial animal distribution and diversity. Int J Appl Earth Obs Geoinf 9:1–20. doi:10.1016/j.jag.2006.08.002
Ludwig JA, Bastin GN, Eager RW, Karfs R, Ketner P, Pearce G (2000) Monitoring Australian rangeland sites using landscape function indicators and ground- and remote-based techniques. Environ Monit Assess 64:167–178. doi:10.1023/A:1006475825546
Ludwig JA, Bastin GN, Wallace JF, McVicar TR (2007) Assessing landscape health by scaling with remote sensing: when is it not enough? Landscape Ecol 22:163–169. doi:10.1007/s10980-006-9038-6
Mack RN, Simberloff D, Lonsdale WM, Evans H, Clout M, Bazzaz FA (2000) Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecol Appl 10:689–710. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[0689:BICEGC]2.0.CO;2
McVicar TR, Jupp DLB (1998) The current and potential operational uses of remote sensing to aid decisions on drought exceptional circumstances in Australia: a review. Agric Syst 57:399–468. doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(98)00026-2
Millington AC, Velez-Liendo XM, Bradley AV (2003) Scale dependence in multitemporal mapping of forest fragmentation in Bolivia: implications for explaining temporal trends in landscape ecology and applications to biodiversity conservation. ISPRS J Photogramm Remote Sens 57:289–299. doi:10.1016/S0924-2716(02)00154-5
Minor TB, Lancaster J, Wade TG, Wickham JD, Whitford W, Jones KB (1999) Evaluating change in rangeland condition using multitemporal AVHRR data and geographic information system analysis. Environ Monit Assess 59:211–223. doi:10.1023/A:1006126622200
Muldavin EH, Neville P, Harper G (2001) Indices of grassland biodiversity in the Chihuahuan desert ecoregion derived from remote sensing. Conserv Biol 15(15):844–855. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.015004844.x
Nagendra H (2001) Using remote sensing to assess biodiversity. Int J Remote Sens 22:2377–2400. doi:10.1080/01431160117096
Neldner VJ, Wilson BA, Thompson EJ, Dillewaard HA (2004) Methodology for survey and mapping of regional ecosystems and vegetation communities in Queensland. Version 3. In Queensland environmental protection agency Brisbane
O’Reagain PJ (2001) Foraging strategies on rangelands: effects on intake and animal performance. In: Gomide JA, Mattos WRS, Silva SCd (eds) Grassland ecosystems: an outlook into the 21st century. Proceedings of the XIX international grassland congress. Sao Pedro, Brazil, pp 277–284
O’Reagain P, Bushell J (1999) Testing grazing strategies for the seasonably variable tropical savannas. In: Eldridge DFD (ed) VIth international rangeland congress. Vi Int Rangeland Congress Inc Townsville, Australia, pp 485–486
Phelps DG, Bosch OJH (2002) A quantitative state and transition model for the Mitchell grasslands of central western Queensland. Rangel J 24:242–267. doi:10.1071/RJ02014
Pickup G, Bastin GN (1997) Spatial distribution of cattle in arid rangelands as detected by patterns of change in vegetation cover. J Appl Ecol 34:657–667. doi:10.2307/2404914
Pickup G, Bastin GN, Chewings VH (1998) Identifying trends in land degradation in non-equilibrium rangelands. J Appl Ecol 35:365–377. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.1998.00319.x
Power S, Tseitkin F, Mehta V, Lavery B, Torok S, Holbrook N (1999) Decadal climate variability in Australia during the twentieth century. Int J Climatol 19:169–184. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088(199902)19:2<169::AID-JOC356>3.0.CO;2-Y
Puigdefabregas J (2005) The role of vegetation patterns in structuring runoff and sediment fluxes in drylands. Earth Surf Process Landf 30:133–147. doi:10.1002/esp.1181
S-PLUS (1999) S-PLUS 2000 guide to statistics. Data analysis products division. MathSoft, Seattle
Scholes RJ, Archer SR (1997) Tree–grass interactions in savannas. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 28:517–544. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.517
Smyth AK, James CD (2004) Characteristics of Australia’s rangelands and key design issues for monitoring biodiversity. Aust Ecol 29:3–15. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2004.01360.x
Sternberg M, Gutman M, Perevolotsky A, Ungar ED, Kigel J (2000) Vegetation response to grazing management in a Mediterranean herbaceous community: a functional group approach. J Appl Ecol 37:224–237. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2000.00491.x
Suppiah R, Hennessy KJ (1998) Trends in total rainfall, heavy rain events and number of dry days in Australia, 1910–1990. Int J Climatol 18:1141–1164. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088(199808)18:10<1141::AID-JOC286>3.0.CO;2-P
Tegler B, Sharp M, Johnson MA (2001) Ecological monitoring and assessment network’s proposed core monitoring variables: an early warning of environmental change. Environ Monit Assess 67:29–55. doi:10.1023/A:1006479516184
Turner W, Spector S, Gardiner N, Fladeland M, Sterling E, Steininger M (2003) Remote sensing for biodiversity science and conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 18(18):306–314. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(03)00070-3
Vos P, Meelis E, Ter Keurs WJ (2000) A framework for the design of ecological monitoring programs as a tool for environmental and nature management. Environ Monit Assess 61:317–344. doi:10.1023/A:1006139412372
Washington-Allen RA, West NE, Ramsey RD, Efroymson RA (2006) A protocol for retrospective remote sensing-based ecological monitoring of rangelands. Rangel Ecol Manag 59:19–29. doi:10.2111/04-116R2.1
Watson IW, Novelly PE, Thomas PWE (2007) Monitoring changes in pastoral rangelands—the western Australian rangeland monitoring system (WARMS). Rangel J 29:191–205. doi:10.1071/RJ07008
Woinarski JCZ, Fisher A, Milne D (1999) Distribution patterns of vertebrates in relation to an extensive rainfall gradient and variation in soil texture in the tropical savannas of the northern territory, Australia. J Trop Ecol 15:381–398. doi:10.1017/S0266467499000905
Woinarski JC, Connors G, Franklin DC (2000) Thinking honeyeater: nectar maps for the northern territory, Australia. Pac Conserv Biol 6:61–80
Woinarski JZC, Andersen AN, Churchill TB, Ash AJ (2002) Response of ant and terrestrial spider assemblages to pastoral and military land use, and to landscape position, in a tropical savanna woodland in northern Australia. Aust Ecol 27:324–333. doi:10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01183.x
Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the help of numerous landholders in granting us access to their properties for the survey. This project was funded by the Tropical Savannas Co-operative Research Centre, Land and Water Australia and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, and the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University. Thanks to Lindsay Jones for assistance with GIS work. This publication was improved through the valuable comments of John Ludwig.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ward, D.P., Kutt, A.S. Rangeland biodiversity assessment using fine scale on-ground survey, time series of remotely sensed ground cover and climate data: an Australian savanna case study. Landscape Ecol 24, 495–507 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-009-9324-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-009-9324-1