Biophysical and Spectral Characteristics of Cool- and Warm-Season Grasslands under Three Land Management Practices in Eastern Kansas

Grasslands are the largest of the Earth's four major vegetation types and are among the most agriculturally productive lands. Grassland management practices alter biophysical factors, such as plant species composition, soil structure and chemistry, and primary productivity. Large-scale changes in land management practices can have significant impacts on available natural resources, therefore impacting a regional socioeconomics. For these reasons, an improved understanding of the geographic distribution of changing land management practices and how these changes affect grassland biophysical characteristics of an area is critical to improve land use planning and practices. This study investigated the spectral characteristics, as measured using satellite remotelysensed data, of three land management practices grazing, haying, and management under Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)] on areas dominated by cool- and warm-season grasslands. The satellite imagery was acquired in May, July, and September in 1997 over Douglas County, Kansas. Biomass, vegetation cover, and species richness data were collected around the satellite overflight periods. Our results indicate that the biophysical characteristics and spectral reflectances are significantly different among the three management practices over cool- and warm-season grasslands. Interestingly, sites grazed by livestock had the highest species richness and the highest forb cover, although the total cover is almost the same as the other practices, and they have the highest near-infrared reflectance throughout the growing season.