Detection of Acid Rain Stress Effect on Plant Using Hyperspectral Data in Three Gorges Region, China

This paper aims to use hyperspectral data to detect the spectral change caused by acid stress to a native forest type in the Three Gorges region of China. For this purpose, a ground-based hyperspectral experiment was conducted at the Three Gorges region to detect acid deposition that caused Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) forest degradation. Continuum removal method was used to isolate wavebands more responsive to stress in wavelengths 450–750nm. The differences in chlorophyll concentrations and needle thickness caused by acidic stress are found to be explicable to the different spectral reflectance patterns in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Two new chlorotic indices were utilized to explain the stress-caused leaf chlorosis. The comparison of simulated vegetation indices and principal component analysis (PCA) results suggests that it would be possible to monitor acid rain stress effect on forest ecosystem from some wider spectral regions.