Mapping Locust Habitats in the Amudarya River Delt

Authors: Ramesh Sivanpillai Alexandre V Latchininsky

Publish Date: 2007/04/19

Volume: 39, Issue: 6, Pages: 876-886

PDF Link

Abstract

Reed beds of Phragmites australis in the River Amudarya delta near the Aral Sea constitute permanent breeding areas of the Asian Migratory locust Locusta migratoria migratoria Every year thousands of hectares are treated with broadspectrum insecticides to prevent locust swarms from damaging crops in adjacent areas To devise efficient locust monitoring and management plans accurate and updated information about the spatial distribution of reeds is necessary Given the vast geographic extent of the delta traditional ground survey methods are inadequate Remotely sensed data collected by the MODIS sensor aboard the TERRA satellite provide a useful tool to characterize the spatial distribution of reeds Multitemporal MODIS data collected at different times of the growing season were used to generate spectral–temporal signatures for reeds and other land cover classes These spectral–temporal signatures were matched with reed phenology MODIS information was digitally classified to generate a land cover map with an overall accuracy of 74 MODIS data captured 87 of the groundverified reed locations Estimates derived from MODIS data indicate that 18 of the study area was covered by reeds However high commission error resulted from misclassification of reeds mixed with shrubs class and shrubs class as reeds This could have resulted in overprediction of the area covered by reeds Additional research is needed to minimize the overlap between reeds and other vegetation classes shrubs and reed and shrub mix Nevertheless despite its relatively low spatial resolution 250 m multitemporal MODIS data were able to adequately capture the distribution of reeds Instead of blanketing the fragile wetland ecosystem of the Amudarya delta with chemical antilocust treatments plant protection specialists can use this information to devise ecologically sound pest management plans aimed at reducing the adverse environmental impact in the zone of the Aral Sea ecological catastrophe MODIS methodology to identify reed stands can be applicable to the Migratory locust habitats in other geographic areasDr Hans Wilps Project leader “Sustainable Control of Pest Locusts in Central Asia” GTZ Tashkent Uzbekistan coordinated the field work and aerial reconnaissance missions and his contributions to all aspects of this project are gratefully acknowledged Ms Evelin KirkilionisWilps acquired the aerial photographs that were vital for the classification of MODIS data Contributions of the following GTZ staff Mr Pawel Dobrynin Ms Mukhabhat Kamalova and Mr Nusamatdin Saparniyasov are also acknowledged We thank Mr Koshkimbay Djemuratov Director Locust Control Center for his help with the field work International travel assistance to the first author was provided by the International Programs Office University of Wyoming Partial salary support to the first author was provided by the USGS/AmericaView program through UW grant number AMVIEW46014 International travel assistance to the second author was provided through a grant from NASA/Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium NDUNV48601LTCHN and GTZ We thank Dr Jeffrey A Lockwood Dr Kirk A VanDyke Dr Kenneth L Driese and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions

Keywords: