ARS | Publication request: Remote sensing to test distrubution models of invasive species

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: April 2, 2007
Publication Date: April 17, 2007
Citation: Hunt, E.R. 2007. Remote sensing to test distribution models of invasive plant species [abstract]. 37th Biological System Simulation Conference. p. 79.

Technical Abstract: Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is a noxious invasive weed that infests over 1.2 million hectares of land in North America. One of the fundamental needs in leafy spurge management is cost-effective, large-scale, and long-term documentation and monitoring of plant populations. Leafy spurge is a good candidate for detection via remote sensing because the distinctive yellow-green color of its bracts is spectrally unique when compared to co-occurring green vegetation. During 1999, Airborne Visible / Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) imagery were acquired in northeastern Wyoming and ground vegetation data were collected nearby Devils Tower National Monument in Crook County, Wyoming. Hyperspectral analyses were used to classify leafy spurge presence/absence; overall accuracy using the spectral angle mapper was 76%. The classification data were used to test the Weed Invasion Susceptibility Prediction (WISP) model, which uses available geospatial data layers to predict the potential distribution of various invasive weeds. Kappa analyses showed that the WISP model predictions were no better than chance. New parameters for the WISP model were developed and the accuracy of model predictions increased to 84%. The WISP model can be the basis for an invasive weed decision support system.