International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV, Part B2. Istanbul 2004 
  
  
  
  
1988 1997 
___LUCtype ____ Trainingsamples Testing samples LUC type Training samples Testing samples 
CF 126 125 CF 46 51 m 
CFDBF 241 240 CFDBF 238 244 
DBF 205 206 DBF 188 193 
SHGR 130 134 SHGR 46 48 
BAM 23 25 BAM 40 =33 
FAS 48 47 FAS 51 48 
WAR 82 85 WAR 61 63 
A Ali Weg on Tl RAB i Yi ator sadnon sippy 
Total 919 929 Total 780 798 = 
  
Table 1. Number of sample points for classifying the images acquired in 1988 and 1997. CF--conifer forest: CFDBF-- 
mixed conifer and broadleaf forest; DBF--deciduous broadleaf forest: SHGR--shrub-grass land; BAM--bamboo; FAS-- 
3.4 Measuring normalized vegetation index (NDVI) 
NDVI is often measured for reflecting the energy and growing 
condition of vegetation (Tian and Min 1998). It can correct the 
atmosphere and soil influences on spectral reflection (Shi et al. 
2000). The 1988-image and 1997-image were used to map 
spatial patterns of NDVI for the study area. The following 
formula was applied to calculate NDVI (Zhang et al. 2001). 
_ TM4-TM3 
TM4+TM3 
NDVI 
The NDVI change of two years' images was detected and 
quantified based on the number of pixels for a specific range of 
NDVI (Yang et al. 2000). The NDVI change for each LUC type 
in two years was also quantified, which is useful on detecting 
the quality change of each LUC (Zhan and Yan 2002). 
  
10 0 10 __ 20 Kilometers 
  
farmland and settlement; RAB--rock and bare-land; WAR--water. 
4. RESULTS 
4.1 LUC pattern and mapping accuracy 
The LUC patterns from two different-period images are 
illustrated by figure 2. In general, the conifer forest and 
detected bamboo patches are located mostly along the northern 
boundaries of Foping and Changging NRs but not in 
Guanyingshan NR. The mixed conifer and broadleaf forest 
covers the middle elevation arca between conifer forest and 
deciduous broadleaf forest. The deciduous broadleaf forest is 
identified at the lower elevation area and near the human 
activity regions, mostly distributed at the southern boundaries 
of the study area. The shrub-grass land, farmland and settlement, 
and water body are found also in the valleys in the southern 
parts. The rock and bare-land area are detected mainly in 
Guanyingshan NR and in river valleys, few at the top 
mountains. 
  
  
  
  
10 0 10 20 Kilometers 
  
  
  
Figure 2. Map of LUC types in three nature reserves (Changqing, Foping, Guanyinshan) in the southern slope of the Qinling 
Mountains. The yellow line is the boundary of the nature reserves, and the black one is the boundary of the buffer zone. 
a. September 15,1988; b. September 8,1997. CAS--clouds and shadows, CF--conifer forest, CFDBF--mixed conifer and broadleaf 
forest; DBF--deciduous broadleaf forest; SHGR--shrub-grass land; BAM--bamboo; FAS--farmland and settlement; RAB--rock and 
bare-land; WAR--water. 
Visually, two LUC maps from 1988-image and 1997-image 
show difference. The LUC map from 1988-image has more 
widely distributed conifer forest, larger area of mixed conifer 
and broadleaf forest, less deciduous broadleaf forest and water 
area than the LUC map from 1997-image. Guanyingshan NR in 
856 
(^ € 
1997 has more areas of “shrub-grass land”, “water”, “rock and 
bare-land”, as well as “farmland and settlement” than in 1988. 
The accuracy assessment of two LUC mapping show that the 
overall accuracies are 73.74% and 75.19% for 1988 and 1997 
image classifications respectively. The kappa values are 0.6829 
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