A Geostatistical Exploratory of Spatiotemporal Variation of Nebkha Vegetation in Shahdad, Iran

The integrated application of remote sensing, geographic information system and quantitative analytical modeling can provide scientific and effective methods for monitoring and studying Nebkha vegetation, based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) retrieved from 2, 3 and 4 bands and spatiotemporal exploratory analysis data of Shahdad desert area in 1987, 2001, 2004 and 2009, by using the Moran spatial autocorrelation Index. Results show that Nebkha field in Sahadad area tends to fragmentize with the development of drought, and its global spatial difference becomes greater gradually. The spatial variance pattern of the change of NDVI field from 1987 to 2009 indicates that the dynamic change of NDVI presents a tendency of decrease in study period. NDVI declines distinctly in the districts of west and east of Nehbandan road, while it obviously decrease in western part more than eastern part of Nehbandan road. It can be caused by both effects from drought development and Nehbandan road environmental damages.

Keywords:

Moran’s I , Spatial Autocorrelation , Drought , SPI , Nehbandan Road