Grass growth monitoring using spectral data and vegetation indices

With the increasing development of remote sensing techniques, it has become one of the most important tools to monitor vegetation growth and to identify changes on vegetation cover. The main purpose of this work is to analyze the spectral response of two grass species, Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) and Emerald Zoysia (Zoysia japonica), during their growth period, as well as to obtain specific vegetation indices – VIs, as a proxy for the vegetation cover. Spectral responses of both species were collected by a field spectroradiometer and three spectral indices were calculated: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index – NDVI, Green Normalized Difference Vegetation – GNDVI and Two Band Enhanced Vegetation Index – EVI2. The results suggest a potential use of spectral response of grasses and VIs as senescence indicators and, therefore, for critical harvest periods.